


The Day We Died

by shannyfish



Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-16
Updated: 2011-11-16
Packaged: 2017-10-26 03:38:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/278250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shannyfish/pseuds/shannyfish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Duke is confronted by friends of Reverend Driscoll that promise to give him the answers he so desperately wants, will he sacrifice everyone and everything he holds dear?  How will the town of Haven be forever changed?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where We Stand

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place after the events in 02.10 “Who, What, Where, Wendigo?” Reviews make me happy :D And I’ll write faster too! So, keep that in mind! And yes…I totally stole the title from the Fringe episode!

Chapter 1 – “Where We Stand”

 

Audrey felt awkward after everything that had happened. She felt like possibly the whole town of Haven hated her. She even felt odd around Nathan, which made her not even want to leave her bed. The worst part was that she was still staying above The Grey Gull. So, running into Duke was almost assured. How did things come to this? She still honestly felt like she’d done what needed to be done. Yes, she should have shot him in the leg, but would that have stopped the rev? Audrey didn’t think so. Maybe he wouldn’t have killed the girl right there and then, but he would have killed someone else who was troubled. The troubled in Haven would never have been safe so long as the rev lived.

So, why didn’t she feel relieved?

The rev had threatened their way of life… He’d threatened the life of a lot of people she cared about. Audrey had been terrified at one point while they were in that forest that the rev or one of his men would kill Nathan. Though Nathan’s trouble wasn’t as threatening as many of those she’d met in Haven, the rev had always had his eye on controlling the police department and there was no way he was going to back down from wanting that place of power.

Would the inquest into her actions lead her to being pushed away from her job and her career? Would it push her away from Haven and the world she’d learned to love? Would it keep her from the answers that she so desperately desired? Audrey honestly wasn’t sure if she could cope with that. She didn’t even really know who she was. She wasn’t Audrey Parker…from the other Audrey arriving in Haven…that was quite plain. So, could she live outside of Haven? Would the FBI take her away if they found her? But she didn’t feel like she was Lucy Ripley either, yes…that’s where all the clues had led her so far but could she really trust that? Did that answer her questions? She still felt empty and confused and terribly lonely.

The sharp knock pulled her quickly back to reality. She’d been sitting in her car in front of the police station. Audrey looked left and then right. On the passenger side, she found Nathan standing there with coffees and a box in hand. She reached forward and hit the unlock control and looked downward. Audrey still wasn’t sure how to feel around Nathan. Did he hate her like Duke did now? Did he not trust her? Before she’d told Nathan that things just had to be her and him and that was it. They could only trust each other. But now…could he trust her?

Nathan set the coffees into the cup holders in the center console and then slid in, closing the door behind him. He pushed the small pink box up on the dashboard and made sure it was balanced before letting it go. He turned to her and frowned. Reaching out, Nathan turned the key in the ignition. Normally, he’d be the one driving. They drove his bronco all over Haven, but today he was going to need her to drive.

Reaching out, Nathan lifted her chin and turned her face so that he could see it. Her mascara was running down her face and her face was red and puffy from crying. He pulled a napkin that was tucked in the side of the box he’d brought along and reached out and wiped her face clean. It had taken him a minute to banish the grey-black streams that had formed on her face, but soon it was clean.

“There,” he said softly.

“I…” she tried to speak, but she soon realized she’d been crying probably the whole time and hadn’t realized it until that moment. Her voice hitched and kept her from continuing.

“I told them that you were sick and that they’d have to reschedule the inquest for another day,” Nathan told her evenly. He pulled the box from the dashboard, so that it settled in his lap. “Let’s drive.”

“Where?” she managed to ask.

“Tuwiuwok Bluffs,” Nathan spoke up.

 

. . .

 

They’d parked and Nathan had forced her to leave her car. They each carried their respective coffee while Nathan carried the small box and guided Audrey in the direction he apparently wanted to go. It was quiet up there, which was nice. Audrey honestly didn’t want to be around others right now.

Nathan sat down first and then she sat down beside him. It’d been a silent journey ever since he’d given her the location he had wanted to go. Maybe it was better that way, she wasn’t sure. Audrey wasn’t sure whether or not to be worried because of the silence.

“Cupcake or donut?” Nathan asked and had the box opened, offering her the contents. Inside were four cupcakes and four donuts. “

Audrey gave him a small smile before nabbing a cupcake. “Thanks,” she told him and found a flat area of the boulder they were sitting on to set her coffee down. She dipped her finger into the frosting and then brought it up to her mouth. The sugary frosting was comforting and Audrey felt herself calming a bit.

“Are you worried about the inquest?” Nathan asked.

Audrey nodded as she took in a bite of the cupcake. “What happens if I can’t do all I know to do, Nathan?” she asked, turning to him suddenly.

“I’ll make sure that you stay in Haven here…with the department,” Nathan told her.

“It’s not even that that I’m more concerned about,” she found herself saying. Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to have disappointed you, Nathan. For you to lose your faith in me… You’re my best friend, my only friend… I can’t lose you…”

Nathan’s arm was around her almost immediately and his lips pressed against her forehead. “The rev would have killed if you hadn’t shot him when you did. We both know that. He was on a mission to wipe out all of the troubled…”

She pressed her face into his jacket and allowed the tears to fall. Audrey felt a wave of relief hit her. It was really all she needed to hear. As long as Nathan wasn’t against her, then things would work out…she knew they would…they could.

It seemed like a long time had passed before she finally pulled away and brushed the remaining tears from her face. “I got frosting on your jacket,” she said, sadness still in her voice.

“Pretty sure the frosting isn’t going to hurt,” he told her as he placed a kiss on her forehead again. “Things will work out,” he whispered before pressing his forehead against hers.

“People hate me, Nathan,” Audrey told him. “You’re chief again. You can’t push with my inquest…who knows who will be named chief if they decide that you’re compromised.”

“Audrey…”

“Even if I’m not a police officer, I can still help the troubled in Haven,” she whispered. She allowed her eyes to close and she tried to wish everything away. Right now, though, she felt safe and with knowing that Nathan didn’t hate her…that brought some comfort to her. “We can still have coffee, right?”

“We’ll have coffee every morning,” he assured gently.

Slowly, Audrey pulled away from Nathan and stared down at the remains of her cupcake. She tore a piece off and popped it into her mouth. She looked out at their surroundings and in that moment realized that she was happy. Haven was the place where she’d found some kind of family; Nathan had always been there and continued to stay at her side. Even if Haven didn’t give her any more answers, Audrey felt like there was nowhere else she could really go.

“Today, though, let’s just play hooky,” Nathan suggested. Maybe it was the fact that Nathan felt like he and Audrey had a special relationship…a special connection…or maybe it was the fact that she was the only touch he could feel… Whatever it was, Nathan couldn’t stay mad at her, he still trusted her, and he doubted that anything she could do was going to change that.

She smiled and turned to him. “Nathan Wuornos, playing hooky? I’m learning more and more about you…”

“I’d only do it with someone I cared about,” he said and then found himself looking down.

Audrey leaned against him as she ate the last bite of the cupcake and then washing it down with some of the coffee that she’d set behind her on the boulder. “You know you’re lucky…”

“How?”

“You know about the skeletons in your closet… You had a family growing up… The chief whole-heartedly loved you and only wanted the best for you,” Audrey told him. “You’re lucky…”

Nathan nodded. “I wish I had known how lucky I was when the chief was alive,” he said a tad sadly. “You know, he tried…he tried to connect and to make things right between us…and I just pushed him away. I didn’t understand then…that he was trying to prepare me…prepare us…for this…”

“He knew that you loved him as a father, Nathan,” Audrey told him. She reached out and squeezed his hand, trying to bring him some comfort. “You’re still a Wuornos, and I’d like to think that he knows that you’re trying…that we’re trying to take care of things in Haven…that we’re sheltering and protecting the troubled.”

Nathan smiled. “If he knows what’s going on, I’m sure he’d have testified on your behalf at your inquest. The chief never did like the rev much.”

“I honestly don’t think that anyone like the rev much, but he did have a cult-like presence here in town. People are mourning his loss… He touched lives, lives that will try to strike back at me…at us…if we continue what we’ve been doing.”

“We have to continue.”

“I told Duke that we’re fighting a war here…”

“I think you’re right.”

Audrey and Nathan sat there in silence for a few more minutes.

“But today, we’re going to forget that war,” Nathan told her. He squeezed her hand back. “Tomorrow’s another day… We can face it…together…tomorrow. Today, we’re just going to forget the world. We’ll hide away and eat cupcakes all day if you like.”

Audrey turned to look at him. He looked sincere. “You don’t have to take the day off to cheer me up…” She paused for a moment, eyeing the small box that Nathan had set aside. “You do have to give me another one of those cupcakes, though…”

Nathan smiled at her and held the box open for her again. “Well, you’re not getting rid of me that easily,” he told her. “We don’t have to do anything, but I’m not leaving you alone.”

Sighing, she frowned. “I don’t even want to go back to my place… There’s pretty much no way to avoid Duke there…”

“Want me to come with you? You can pick some things up and lay low at my place for a few days?”

Audrey just stared at Nathan for a few minutes. Had Nathan Wuornos just asked her to come over for a sleepover? She was tempted though… Having to see Duke would be hard, though, and just being there would make her feel guilty. She was missing Julia Carr suddenly; at least when they were both staying at the bed and breakfast Julia would watch out for her. If she didn’t want to see anyone, then she didn’t have to.

“Nathan…you already see me all day as it is, you really don’t want to take me home, too,” Audrey told him. She was sure that Nathan needed his space. Nathan deserved to have his space.

“I’ll just make sure we stop at Rosemary’s and pick up more cupcakes,” Nathan told her. “Come on,” he said as he got to his feet. He picked up his coffee and the box. “I’ll take you to get some things. We’ll get the cupcakes on the way to my place.”

Nathan said it all kindly, but he didn’t leave any room for negotiation. Audrey really didn’t mind though. Nathan was going to go with her to The Grey Gull, which meant that she wouldn’t have to face Duke on her own. She appreciated that beyond measure. “You know, you’re probably the only person in Haven who doesn’t hate me on some level right now.” Audrey followed him back towards the bronco, coffee and the remains of the second cupcake in tow.

“Pretty sure that Vince and Dave don’t hate you…Dwight would probably give you a medal if he could,” Nathan said matter-of-factly as he opened the door for her. He wasn’t about to lose his best friend. He was a little worried that things would go badly during the inquest and that Audrey would flee Haven.

He wouldn’t let that happen.

. . .

 

Nathan had ordered out food and had brought it back to find Audrey watching some girly movie. He didn’t mind, though. Audrey wasn’t crying so he felt a bit better about her state of mind…though she’d eaten eight cupcakes so far that day… That might be a record, he thought as he made his way towards the kitchen in order to put food on plates in a way to make it look like it wasn’t take-out.

“You know, I think there’s such thing as a sugar coma,” he warned.

“I would happily take that.”

Frowning, he dished the two plates up and hoped that tomorrow things wouldn’t go to hell. He wanted to make things right. As chief…again…Nathan knew he could help put things in Audrey’s favor, but she’d asked him not to use his position. It wasn’t like he would be lying…not really. The rev was a bad guy, he tried to kill a girl…he wasn’t going to stop until they stopped him…and Audrey had done that.

He carried one plate over to Audrey and set it in front of her and then took the box of remaining cupcakes away. She started to complain, but he nudged the plate in her lap with his knee before setting the box in the kitchen where Audrey couldn’t get to it for the time being.

“Eat,” Nathan told her. He returned with a plate of his own. “You’re going to crash after all that sugar and you may as well have a full stomach of actual food.”

Audrey smiled at him when he took a seat next to her. “I was getting comfortable in case I crashed before you got back.”

“No,” he said. “You’re not crashing on the couch. You’re going to be sleeping in the bedroom.”

“No, Nathan—“

“Yes, Audrey.”

“But—“

“The couch is uncomfortable to sleep on, trust me, and you’re going to have a long and stressful day tomorrow. I think it’s a good idea that you get some quality sleep.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re going to have a stressful day tomorrow too,” Audrey came back at him. “You have to deal with me…remember?”

“That may be so, but I think you need it more than I do.”

“We could share the bed?”

Nathan stared at her for a long moment. “Uh…”

“Are you afraid to share a bed with me?”

“No.”

“I brought pajamas.”

“I own pajamas.”

“So…it’s settled then.”

“Wait…what?” he asked, confused at how they’d gotten to that point.

“Just eat your dinner, Nathan. They’ll be plenty of time for confusion later.”

. . .

 

TBC…


	2. Sometimes Not Even Cupcakes Help

Chapter 2 – “Sometimes Not Even Cupcakes Help”

 

The day hadn’t gone well. Nathan had tried to curb things, to try to make the day easier on Audrey, but nothing seemed to help. “You want a cupcake? I could have someone pick some up from Rosemary’s,” Nathan offered. He was perched on the edge of his desk…well his desk again (in the chief’s office)…as he stared down at a heartbroken Audrey in the chair there.

“There are some things that cupcakes can’t even fix,” she said, her gaze not leaving the floor. They’d told her that until further notice that she was suspended without pay from the Haven Police Department until further notice while they continued their investigation. Nathan had fought like crazy to keep them from doing that…even if they just put Audrey on desk duty. She’d kept it together, but in the privacy of his office she’d allowed herself to completely let everything go.

Nathan got down from his perch on the desk and kneeled down in front of her. He lifted her face and stared into her eyes. “Audrey, I’m going to fix this,” he told her gently. “Things will be back in order before you know it.”

“I just…”

“Listen to me,” he said, his voice taking on a stern tone. “We’re going to figure things out. They’re going to come back and probably put something in your file, but you’ll be back in the field in no time… I promise.”

“It’s not something that you can promise, Nathan.”

“I promise.”

Audrey just stared at him for a long while. His eyes were worried but there was truth there. He meant it. She nodded after a moment. “Now, I just have to figure out what to do with all my free time, I guess…”

“You could take up golfing?” he suggested with a crooked smile.

“I think I’ll pass on that one,” she said with a small laugh.

Nathan straightened up and offered his hand. “Come on, I’ll take you to lunch.”

Audrey took the offered hand and stood up. She took a second to fix the mascara that was now running down her cheeks. She really was a mess. She had no idea how Nathan could remain so calm with her so hysterical. “You sure you want to spend more time with me?”

He pulled her into a hug and then kissed her forehead. “Audrey, I could spend everyday with you and not get tired of having you around,” he told her truthfully and then swung open the office door for her so that she could go first.

 

. . .

 

The day had ended better…and that was what counted. Audrey couldn’t believe how relaxed she was considering everything. She and Nathan had had lunch and then he’d dropped her off at his place. She’d watched Lifetime for far too long, she’d actually lost track of time. She and Nathan had had dinner together. When it was finally about time for bed, she’d taken a long hot bubble bath and then had crawled into bed with Nathan.

It was silly.

To feel such comfort and love from someone. They were both fully clothed in pajamas, but he held her and it felt like the world was slowing. She could just live in that moment forever. That was the best moment in her life thus far. There was solace and sanctuary there in his bed and in his arms. He was her friend still and he still trusted her…and he cared about her.

Was that all that it was?

She was the only one that he could feel and as she lay there with his arms wrapped around her. Was it that way for a reason? Everyone’s trouble was activating for a reason, well for the most part. Was this fate? Was it destiny? Were she and Nathan supposed to be together? Were they supposed to be more than friends? He was her best friend. She’d always heard of people marrying their best friend and how she had always thought that that was silly. When it all fell apart then it wouldn’t be a spouse you’d be losing, but also your best friend. The whole world would fade to black at that point it seemed.

“Nathan,” she spoke aloud.

“Mmmm?” he mumbled.

Turning in his arms, Audrey could see that he had pretty much fallen asleep. There was a bright smile on his face. He was content…happy… She was glad. She poked at him. He stirred and opened his eyes to stare into hers.

“Yes?”

“Do you think there’s a reason…” she started. “A reason why you can only feel my touch?”

Nathan shrugged. “Probably…”

“You’re the only one I can trust.”

“I know,” he whispered. “It’s just you and me. That’s how it’s going to be no matter what they say. You’re still my partner, Audrey. Nothing will change that.”

Nathan was a handsome man. A man of honor. A kind man. What more could she ask for? She had to know if there was something more there. She needed it for sanity’s sake. She’d felt insane enough today, she needed something to steady her. Leaning forward, she allowed her lips to meet his in a kiss. Nathan didn’t move at first, but he welcomed the kiss. After a moment though, he was returning it.

“Audrey…” he breathed.

“I had to know,” she whispered. There was something there. At least as far as she was concerned. She could feel Nathan, but when they kissed it was more than anything she’d felt before. There was something definitely there. Tears fell from her eyes and she shook her head. “Can we just stop time?” she whispered as she wiped the tears away. They were tears of joy, but she still felt silly having them fall down her face.

“I wouldn’t mind that,” Nathan agreed and pulled her to him, his arms pulling her tight to him. He kissed her forehead. “I think right now, though, it’s best that we sleep.” He was absolutely exhausted and as much as he’d love to stay up and savor Audrey’s touch (he’d done that the night before) as exposed skin touched his innocently, tonight they both needed to sleep. It’d been too long of a day. Now it was time for it to end.

They laid there in silence in the dark for several minutes before Audrey spoke up. “I need a cupcake!”

“I thought that cupcakes weren’t working today!” Nathan replied, but it was too late. Audrey was already gone.

Audrey returned with the whole box and set it on the bedside table. She’d already devoured half a cupcake before she’d made it back to the bedroom. “That was before…this is now…” She giggled as she got back into bed and she scared Nathan in the action of her bouncing into the bed. “Right now, this is definitely the time for cupcakes! Do you want one?”

He laughed. “No… And perhaps no crumbs in the bed…”

“You can’t feel them,” Audrey teased.

“But I’ll know they’re there…”

“Okay, no crumbs,” she promised.

. . .

 

She woke when he did. Audrey got ready as if she was going to go into the station. That wasn’t the plan today, though. Instead, she’d already planned on going to talk to Dave and Vince at the Haven Herald and see if she could distract herself by going through their archives. She’d thought that perhaps looking for Lucy in there would help her get through the day.

Nathan hadn’t thought it was the best idea, but it was the only idea that had come up between the two of them. He was going to pick her up for lunch and then if she wanted to go somewhere else, he’d drop her off before he needed to return to the station. She honestly wasn’t sure what she was going to do with so much time off. She was never good with vacations or weekends. She preferred to work.

“Do we need to stop and pick up more cupcakes?” Nathan asked. He’d noticed that there were only a couple of cupcakes left. He watched as she picked up one of the few remaining and started to eat it.

Audrey shook her head. “Not yet. Maybe after you’re off.”

“You know we could get pancakes,” Nathan told her. “I like pancakes. Pancakes are breakfast food.”

“Cupcakes can be breakfast food.”

“I swear you’re going to go into a sugar coma from all those cupcakes,” Nathan told her as he pulled on his jacket.

“How about tonight we have pancakes? Breakfast for dinner?”

Nathan nodded. He liked that idea. “Deal.”

It didn’t take that long for them to arrive at the Haven Herald, Haven wasn’t that big after all. Nathan stared at the Herald’s sign for a moment. He honestly wasn’t sure how much good this would do. Yes, it would be a distraction, but would it be a good distraction? He pondered calling Vince and Dave when he got to the station just to touch base with them. The two of them liked Audrey, he knew they’d look out for her but he didn’t know if they’d heard the rumors yet. Rumors traveled in Haven at the speed of light, but sometimes they took a little longer to spread. “Are you sure that you want to spend the day here after yesterday?”

Audrey shrugged. “I don’t know… Honestly, I’d be happy to hide out with cupcakes until the world seems to normalize.”

“Normalize?” Nathan asked. He looked at her oddly.

“I know, this is Haven…but you know what I mean,” she told him. “I just…if I lock myself up and just eat cupcakes I’m afraid that I won’t be able to crawl out of that dark place.” She was being absolutely honest with him. He deserved that after all. “I’ve never been in this situation before, Nathan. I don’t know who I am… Am I Lucy? Should I stop playing pretend and start having everyone call me Lucy instead of Audrey? Am I going to be able to go back to the only thing I know how to do?”

He stared at her. He understood, sort of. “For the record, I’m going to stick with calling you Audrey… As for the rest, we’ll figure it out.”

She smiled at him. “I really don’t think I’m ready to be called something else anyways.” She opened the door and stepped out. Turning back to him, she put on a smile for him. She tried to make it a confidant one, though she honestly didn’t know how it came across to Nathan. Probably fake, but she’d given it her best try. “Okay, I’ll see you at lunch, right?”

“Right,” Nathan told her. “I’ll call before I leave the station.”

Audrey nodded.

“Call me if Vince or Dave give you any problems.”

Audrey smiled for real this time. “I think I can handle Vince and Dave.”

“You never know.”

“See you later,” she said as she shut the bronco’s passenger door and then headed for the door to the Haven Herald.

Nathan sat there and watched her as she entered. As soon as he saw Dave approaching Audrey, he headed into traffic, what bit of traffic there was at that hour. He headed towards the station and hoped that Audrey would be okay. It wouldn’t be too long until he saw her, but that didn’t keep him from worrying about her. Memories of the night before and the feeling of actually being able to feel her lips brought a bright smile to his face.

. . .

TBC…


	3. What You Can Never Take Back

Chapter 3 – “What You Can Never Take Back”

 

Much to Audrey’s surprise, things hadn’t been so bad. Dave and Vince had actually cheered her up a lot and had actually put her to work. She didn’t mind, though. It wasn’t what she was used to doing, but it was more exploring parts of Haven she may not have seen before more than work. It had been a distraction and that was just fine. A distraction was truly what she’d needed.

They had tried to convince her to call Nathan and tell him that she’d rather have lunch with them. They were so cute. “I promised Nathan,” she told them.

“So…do we get details?” Dave asked.

“Details about…?” Audrey asked.

“You know…you and Nathan.”

“What about us?”

Vince shook his head. “They still haven’t admitted their feelings for each other. “

Audrey stopped for a moment, shocked at Vince’s words. “I’m standing right here, you know. I can hear what you’re saying.”

“I was hoping you could,” Vince said. “So, end the misery and tell Nathan you love him!”

“Wait…what?”

Dave shook his head now. “They’re both so oblivious to it! It’s sad, really!”

“It is!” Vince agreed.

“What are you two talking about?” Audrey asked them. “Nathan doesn’t think of me that way. We’re partners…he’s my best friend…”

“He’s more than that,” Vince said. “Just admit it. You’ll feel better. Nathan will feel better. Then, we can have a party…”

Dave looked at Audrey. “We’ve been right about the dresses in the past, right?”

“Yes, but that isn’t—“ Audrey conceded.

“This isn’t any different. It’s plainly obvious to everyone except you two.”

“I can’t believe we’re having this conversation…” Audrey mumbled and looked down at the ground. She was a little worried that she was blushing…and that there was a slim possibility that this could end up in the Haven Herald. Of course, Dave and Vince liked her and Nathan so maybe they’d be kind about everything. Her and Nathan? Really? Okay…so she’d kissed him the night before, though they didn’t need to know that. But did she love him? Did he love her?

She wasn’t watching where she was going and found herself colliding with someone. Audrey apologized immediately and when she looked up, the small smile that had been on her face disappeared. She was face to face with the one person she’d successfully avoided for the last day or so, Duke Crocker. “Sorry,” she found herself apologizing again.

“They didn’t throw you in jail?” Duke spat at her.

Audrey took a step back, running accidentally into both Dave and Vince who had come to a halt behind her. “What?”

“You killed Reverend Driscoll! You’re a killer, Audrey!”

“That’s not what happened,” Vince argued. “She saved that girl.”

“They suspended me, Duke,” Audrey told him sharply. “They’ll probably fire me from the only thing I know by next week. That should make you happy.”

“He had answers!” Duke spat at her, ignoring Vince and Dave.

Audrey just wanted to run. She wished to be locked up away with her cupcakes. Somewhere safe and someone away from people. “Did you ever think that maybe I could help you find those answers?”

“Not doing so well with your own though?”

“You chose the rev,” Audrey told him. “Nathan and I could have helped you find those answers, but you chose the rev. I did what I had to do in order to save that little girl. You told me afterwards that you didn’t know if you would have stopped the rev from killing her, if you still don’t know or the answer is that you wouldn’t then I don’t know you, Duke…and I honestly don’t want to.”

She turned in order to leave and she hoped that Dave and Vince would follow. At this point, she’d be happy to hide away in the guise of having lunch. Nathan would understand. “Come on, I thought we were having lunch,” Audrey said to the two older men. Before she could get too far, though, she felt a hand yanking her back and around. Duke held her wrist and Audrey actually would admit, if it wasn’t Duke, that it hurt…a lot.

“Let her go!” Dave yelled.

She struggled. Audrey knew that she could break free, but she honestly didn’t feel okay injuring Duke in the process. It was still hard for her to process that Duke was now the enemy and no longer her friend. She was about to stomp on Duke’s foot when sirens sounded.

It wasn’t often that sirens sounded in Haven; normally it was due to a fire truck in need to get to a burning building fast. Today, it wasn’t the fire department. It was Haven Police and Nathan. Haven was a small town; it didn’t take long for police to arrive on the scene. Audrey was certain that someone along the street had called for help.

“Let her go, Duke,” Nathan said. He approached with an officer.

“I can’t do that… If you can’t serve justice, then I will…” Duke threatened. He let Audrey’s wrist go for just a second, he had a handful of her hair in no time though, which kept her in place. He pulled out a gun he’d hidden on himself and held it up to Audrey’s head. “I’ll do it, Nathan…”

“What do you want them to do, Duke?” Audrey asked. Tears left her eyes, she couldn’t help it. Having your hair pulled wasn’t comfortable. At the moment she wondered if Duke was right. Did she need to be brought to justice? What kind of justice?

Nathan got Dave and Vince to the police car, so Audrey was at least relieved at that. She’d been a little worried that the two older men would try to help her. She really was more worried about their safety over hers. If Duke was going to shoot her there, then it was going to happen. She had no doubt in that. Did she want to die, though? Absolutely not. She knew that she had so much still to do.

“I want to see justice…” Duke told her.

“She’s being investigated!” Nathan yelled. “What else do you want? I’m not in charge of it! They won’t even take me as a character witness or any of my input.”

It was tense and Audrey waited for things to happen. Either Duke was going to shoot or the police officer was going to. Nathan had his gun out, but she doubted that he’d chance hitting her. She closed her eyes and just wished the world away. She concentrated on her moment the night before with Nathan. Their lips touching and the crackling she’d felt through her soul. The peaceful and perfect moment was interrupted by the sound of a moan emanating from deep inside of her. She’d been thrown to the ground and had actually hit it pretty hard since she wasn’t expecting it.

“Audrey!” Nathan shouted.

“I’m okay!” she said quickly. She really wasn’t, but it was the standard response to deliver. There were footfalls and Duke complaining and the familiar sound of cuffs. Audrey started to get up on her own, but found Dave and Vince there to help her a moment later. She accepted the help and gave them both a small smile. She heard them gasp and looked downward. Her hands were scraped up pretty badly and she felt bruised in various places.

“You’re going to need a doctor for those,” Dave told her.

“I’m fine,” she told him. She just wanted to hide away somewhere.

Vince guided her to the curb. “Come sit here.”

She did as instructed and then looked back at Nathan. He and Duke were arguing. The police officer was standing close by. Normally she was the moderator between them, but something had happened to Duke. He’d changed…reverted maybe. He’d changed since she’d gotten to Haven, for the better…and now this.

“The rev deserves justice!” Duke yelled again. “And I’m not the only one who feels that way, Nathan!”

“You know what,” Nathan responded, his voice almost too low for anyone else to hear around him. “You’re lucky… Audrey probably won’t file charges against you even though I’m going to insist she does. She’s changed you Duke. You were a common criminal before and then you were practically an upstanding member of Haven…and now this… You’ve got your priorities all screwed up! Audrey’s helped you and you can’t even see it!”

“Chief,” the police officer spoke up.

Nathan nodded. “Take him down to the station.” He was beyond pissed. He had finally settled down and had stopped worrying when the call had come in. A local shopkeeper had seen the incident. All of Haven knew what had happened with the rev and he was sure that enough of those rumors blamed Audrey. The shopkeeper was concerned for Audrey and Nathan was extremely grateful.

As he made his way towards where Audrey sat and Vince and Dave stood nearby, he knew what she’d say. He knew Audrey well enough, even in this heightened emotional state. She was going to blame herself and tell him to let Duke go. He wasn’t going to like that conversation. He wanted to at least let Duke sit and hope that some sense came to him. Pressing charges against him would actually make him feel better about everything, but she wasn’t going to let him.

“She needs a doctor,” Dave said.

Nathan nodded. “We called an ambulance already.”

“I’m sorry, Nathan,” Vince started. “We didn’t see Duke. We were distracted by our conversation.”

“That good of a conversation, was it?” Nathan asked and then sat down next to Audrey on the curb. He reached out and inspected the palms of her hands. At some point, her body had automatically tried to keep herself from hitting the ground. Audrey had still hit the ground, but he had a feeling he’d be more worried about a head wound, if her body’s natural instincts hadn’t kicked in. It was pretty bad, well bad enough that he was pretty sure that the medics en route would at least clean it up, put something on it, and wrap them up. He dropped the hand he’d been gently supporting and reached out to move her face, so that she was looking at him.

“Nathan, I’m fine,” Audrey told him quietly.

“Shh…”

Her left cheek was already bruising. He frowned. He didn’t like her getting hurt. He knew that she was a cop, she knew the risks. They could be killed on the job at any time, but this… Nathan didn’t like this at all. He really wanted to go to the station and have some time alone with Duke. He couldn’t though; Nathan had to be on his best behavior while they were investigating Audrey.

“We can argue about pressing charges later,” he finally said. The sound of the ambulance pulling up had pulled him from his thoughts. “Right now, I want you to get looked over.”

“I’m fine.”

“Audrey, I need you to go to the hospital. I just want to make sure that everything’s really okay,” Nathan told her. He turned to Dave and Vince, who were still nearby. “Can you two go with her?” They both nodded quickly. “Thanks.” He needed to take a statement from the shopkeeper.

“How did you know I was going to argue about pressing charges?” Audrey asked him, eyeing him.

“You’re my partner, Audrey. I know you,” Nathan told her and left it at that.

“I really don’t need to go to the hospital.”

“For my sanity, you need to,” Nathan insisted.

“It doesn’t hurt,” she told him as she held her hands up.

Nathan eyed her. “I highly doubt that my trouble is contagious. I don’t want to be finding out three days from now that you had a concussion. You’re going to the hospital.”

“You did hit your head,” Dave pointed out.

“Nathan’s right,” Vince agreed.

“Three to one…not fair, guys…” Audrey complained but then nodded to Nathan. She’d do as he requested. Not because she wanted to, but because it would make Nathan happy.

. . .

TBC…


	4. In the Safety of Your Arms

Chapter 4 – “In the Safety of your Arms”

 

Audrey had checked out. They’d cleaned, treated, and bandaged her hands. One of her wrists was twisted but nothing major and the bruise would just heal on its own. No concussion and no other injuries though. So for that, Nathan was grateful. He’d had to force himself to stay away for the police station while they processed Duke. He was afraid of what he could possibly do to him.

“I’m really fine, Nathan,” Audrey insisted. He’d been pacing pretty much the whole time she’d been there. He’d finally stopped when the doctor had come in and cleared her to leave. He looked beyond worried and she could understand, but at the same time they were going to have to talk about Duke. Nathan wasn’t going to like that.

“I’m going to take you home,” Nathan told her gently.

“Home? Home where?”

Nathan looked at her. “I really don’t think it’s safe at your apartment at the Gull.”

“Maybe we need the space…” Audrey said, not able to look at him while she spoke.

“I would be upset with Duke if he’d assaulted someone else, Audrey,” Nathan said. He closed the distance between them. “Maybe I’m a bit more protective because it’s you…” he said. He lifted her chin, so that he could look at her. “Maybe it’s because you’ve been through a lot.”

“You know I can take care of myself, right?” Audrey asked quietly.

Nathan smiled at her. “You know, I know that. You’ve saved me a fair number of times…”

Audrey smirked. “Are you counting the times that I’ve saved you from burning your mouth because the coffee was too hot?”

“Maybe,” he said, still smiling as he shrugged.

She smiled at him for a moment and then finally spoke up again. “Take me home,” she whispered.

. . .

 

“Do we have to talk about this now?” Audrey asked. They hadn’t been at his place for more than two minutes before Nathan had started to bring up Duke. They had stopped for lunch and they’d also stopped for cupcakes, but Audrey still just didn’t want to talk about it. She wanted to forget it had happened, she wanted to forget that a lot of things had happened.

“I got you cupcakes,” Nathan pointed out.

“They don’t fix everything, you know.”

“Duke assaulted a police officer.”

“I’m suspended,” Audrey pointed out. “Without pay even. Does that count?”

“Actually, it does.” Nathan sighed. “I’m not trying to be mean, Audrey. I just want to make sure that Duke doesn’t come after you again. He’s angry, we know that. He wants answers, answers that the rev apparently had… He needs space and possibly confinement to ensure he doesn’t try to do anything else stupid.”

Audrey was sitting on the couch and watching Nathan pace, again. She was already eating a cupcake and hoped that it would calm her nerves. “He hates me now… I don’t know if I blame him, though.”

“You mean Duke?”

Audrey nodded. “I feel like maybe—“

“Don’t blame yourself, Audrey.”

“I don’t want to press charges, Nathan. He did that because I shot the rev…because of the choice I made.”

“I understand that,” he said. Nathan finally stopped pacing. “I do. I’m just worried that Duke isn’t going to stop coming after you… He may not be troubled, but he’s acting out and he could get violent…more so than today. If the inquest panel decided that they thought you were in the wrong with the rev’s death and fired you from the department, I still think Duke would blame you. I don’t think it’s an easy thing to fix. The only way I know how to keep you safe is to keep Duke locked up…for the time being.”

“Maybe if I talk to him…”

“That hasn’t worked so far.”

“I have to do something, Nathan,” Audrey told him. “I feel so useless as it is.”

“You tried talking to him today. He could have killed you.”

“He wanted something, but I don’t think he was trying to kill me.”

Nathan sighed. They were going to be back and forth about this. He knew that. “I should go down to the station. It shouldn’t take long, though.”

“I’ll be fine here,” Audrey told him.

Nathan headed for the door, but stopped to look back at her. She seemed so small lately. He was sure it was because of everything that had been happening… She’d been emotional and un-Audrey-like. He understood, he just wanted to keep her safe.

 

. . .

 

“Do you think about the chief?”

“Everyday I walk into the station,” Nathan replied.

“He would have been really proud of you. I hope you realize that. He was proud of you before, but he’d been so impressed at everything you’ve done,” Audrey told him.

“I sort of got kicked out as chief…and you’re suspended… Pretty sure he’d say I was screwing up,” Nathan told her.

“I don’t think you’re screwing up,” Audrey told him. They’d been there in bed, staring up at the ceiling. It had been a long day. Audrey had been lying there for most of the early evening and Nathan had found her there and had lain down next to her. Most of the time they’d just stayed like that in silence.

“Are you mad at me?”

The question was the last thing she’d expected to hear out of Nathan’s mouth. She turned on her side, so that she was facing him. He was still staring up, but she could see him. She wanted to see him. Why did he think such a thing? “No,” she answered firmly. “I don’t think I could ever be mad at you, Nathan.”

“Audrey, I know you don’t want to talk about Duke, but I have to tell you something,” Nathan told her. “He had a gun. I don’t know if he was planning on using it or not… He couldn’t have known you’d be with Dave and Vince, but it was on him when they processed him. Apparently the whole time you were at the hospital, he kept going on about how you needed to die…how you were a murderer and they finally had to call in a shrink. They’re keeping an eye on him…making sure there’s nothing wrong with him.”

“He’s on a seventy-two hour hold?” Audrey asked with concern.

Nathan turned so that they were face to face. “It wasn’t my idea, but I have to say that maybe it’s for the best. Maybe he snapped or something…”

“Well that’s three days you don’t have to worry about my safety…” Audrey pointed out. “Though now that you’ve let me crash here…I may never leave…”

Nathan smiled at her. “I probably wouldn’t complain about that.”

“Probably?”

“Well, I would probably complain if you got comfortable to re-paint. I’d prefer not to come back to pinks and florals,” Nathan told her. A bright smile spread across his face as he continued to stare at her.

“A nice yellow wouldn’t hurt you, though,” she teased. “Brighten this place a bit.”

“I have you,” Nathan told her. “You tend to brighten things up.” He reached out and caressed her cheek.

Audrey blushed and moved closer to him, throwing her arms around him and pulling him close. How did Nathan seem to make things better? Maybe it was because he was her partner and best friend…or maybe it was because there was a connection there. It was something deep…and sometimes it was subtle…but it was definitely there. “I wish we could just stay like this…”

“I think that would make things a little difficult…” Nathan teased.

Audrey laughed and hugged him tighter. “I don’t care. We can deal with difficult.”

“That’s true…”

Silence passed between them for a long time. Nathan was just cherishing the feeling of Audrey in his arms. The brief touches of skin to skin…Nathan could stop and live in that moment without a problem. It would be easy to just get lost in that moment. To stay with Audrey.

“We should take a few days off,” Nathan suggested.

“Whenever I try to take a day off, it never ends well,” Audrey told him. “Last time the day repeated…several times…people died…”

He could see her starting to get upset. He knew that that had been really hard for her. She’d seen the deaths of her friends, those she cared about. “You saved us…”

“I told you I’d fix it,” she whispered. “I couldn’t lose you.”

“Let’s go to Eustis,” Nathan told her. “We can get a cabin and just forget about the troubles for a couple of days…”

“Nathan, we can’t just both leave,” Audrey told him.

“Why not?”

“Because we’re needed here…”

“The rev’s gone. We don’t have to worry about returning to finding him in the chief’s office,” Nathan told her.

“We can’t just go,” Audrey told him. “As much as I’d love to,” she told him as she moved back out of his arms and stared at him. “And I would love to, Nathan. We have to wait…at least a couple of weeks…”

“We both have leave…”

“Who will keep an eye on things if we go?”

“I’ll assign someone.”

Audrey frowned. “Who can you really trust there, Nathan?”

Nathan returned the frown. “We wouldn’t be too far away…”

“Please…can we wait like two weeks? Wait for them to decide what they’re going to do with me and let things settle down over the rev?”

“What do you have to be so logical all the time?” Nathan asked.

Audrey laughed. “Do you not remember the crying?”

“I mostly remember all the empty boxes from Rosemary’s.”

She laughed again and moved so that her head was resting against his chest. “Things will settle down soon enough and then we can go… I promise.” Nathan got up without warning and at first; she’d thought he was mad with her. He disappeared out of the room and she just laid there in confusion. He returned a minute or two later with a calendar and pen in hand. He laid the calendar down on the bed, so that she could see it. “What are you doing?”

“I’m marking it on the calendar,” Nathan told her. “This way you can’t back out of it later.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you, Nathan,” Audrey told him with a smile. “I honestly would jump at it right now if it didn’t seem like Haven and life itself here was falling apart.”

“Two weeks, right?”

“What do you think?” Audrey asked as she scooted closer to where Nathan had set the calendar down. “How long until they come back with their decision about me?”

Nathan shrugged. “They should have said that you did nothing wrong right after they talked to you…so they’re taking a long time. Maybe a couple more days…”

“How about we plan two and a half weeks from now?” Audrey suggested.

“That sounds logical,” he teased and marked it on the calendar. “There’s no backing out now…”

“No backing out,” Audrey repeated.

“I’ll call tomorrow and see about a cabin. It’s beautiful up there…lots of things to do too,” Nathan told her. “Just depends on what you like to do.”

“Not golfing…”

He smiled and laughed a bit. “That wasn’t what I was thinking of. There’s hiking and fishing and other things to do outdoors.”

“I like hiking,” Audrey told him.

“Good.”

“So…” she said after a moment and stared up at him. “What exactly are we doing for dinner?”

“What do you want to do?”

“Can we do something fun?” Audrey asked. “Go out?”

“I know somewhere where we can get pancakes,” Nathan offered.

Audrey made a face. “I don’t feel like pancakes.”

“I suppose they serve things other than pancakes there…”

“Sounds good…”

Nathan leaned in and placed a kiss on her lips. He smiled after a moment and then found her returning the kiss. If things weren’t so bleak, Nathan was pretty sure that he’d be walking around Haven all the time smiling like a fool.

. . .

TBC…


	5. Our Final Days

Chapter 5 – “Our Final Days”

 

It was a nice three days. They had been peaceful. Audrey had ended up spending on of the days with Vince and Dave again…they even all had lunch together. They dropped hints about Nathan, again. They were actually quite insistent. Audrey swore that they thought that the fate of Haven rested in her hands…and the way to apparently save things was to admit feelings for Nathan that she was still working through.

The last two days she’d been basically hanging around the station, as a civilian of course, and keeping Nathan company. It hadn’t been as exciting as it could have been, but at least she wasn’t depressed eating cupcakes all day alone. That was a start.

Today was the fourth day. Duke was being released today. The doctors apparently had said that he’d calmed down considerably and Nathan had even visited him. They thought he may have had some kind of break but that he was doing better. Nathan had said that he appeared to be fine and had even apologized about attacking her. As far as she was concerned that was a good sign. Audrey knew that after everything Duke had been through that it was completely possible that he just snapped. He’d just lost his wife and possibly answers that he wanted…

“Why don’t you just wait?”

“I just…I want him to know that I don’t have hurt feelings over what happened the other day,” Audrey told Nathan.

“I told him.”

Audrey looked at him for a long while. “I just…I need to know that things are right.”

“Give him a day or two… We can take him cupcakes or something,” Nathan offered. He really didn’t want Audrey going anywhere on her own with Duke out. Not until he really knew what Duke would do. He’d already been tempted to call Dwight and have him keep an eye on Duke. He hadn’t though…it was still tempting but he’d wait. It was always an option if he needed it.

Audrey nodded. She really didn’t want to wait, but maybe Nathan had a point. Maybe waiting would be better. After all, she could understand Duke needing the space and time to settle back in. Being held on a psych hold for seventy-two hours was never a walk in the park.

She finished up her salad and smiled over at Nathan. “I told Dave and Vince that I’d go out with them today, if that’s okay…”

“What are their plans?”

“Apparently they’re very excited to take me fishing,” Audrey told Nathan.

Nathan smiled and tilted his head. “Do you fish?”

“Apparently…I’m going to,” she told him. “It’ll be fun. Entertaining…at the very least.”

Nathan smirked. “Until you three tip the boat and all end up in the water.”

“Well…that would put a damper on things…”

. . .

 

Audrey arrived at the harbor a bit early. She’d really meant to do as she’d agreed. Audrey had really planned on waiting until talking to Duke, but she found herself drawn to doing so here and now. Plus, it wasn’t like she’d gone out of her way. If Duke’s boat was in its slip and Duke happened to be there…then obviously she was just in the right place at the right time.

She looked around to ensure that she wasn’t being followed. She hated to think that Nathan would do that, but she could understand it. No one was following as far as she could see. She headed towards Duke’s slip where the Cape Rouge was docked normally. She made her way down the dock and could see it as she neared it.

Maybe she just wanted to get the confrontation with Duke over with. Maybe she was worried how Nathan would respond to things if Nathan were present. She understood that Nathan wanted to protect her. It was sweet and chivalrous, but this she needed to do on her own. To know for sure what Duke’s feelings were towards her after everything with the rev.

“Duke? You here?” Audrey called as she looked around the boat from the dock. Duke wasn’t anywhere to be seen from where she was standing. “Permission to come aboard?” she called out. Never before had she even thought to ask permission to step foot on Duke’s boat, but she didn’t really want to be shot. There was a crashing sound followed by what sounded like muffled screams. Audrey didn’t wait, she jumped onto the ship and headed towards where the sounds had originated.

Below decks Audrey found a heap of stuff on the floor, but as far as she could see…no Duke. She was about to investigate further when she was grabbed and disarmed. She didn’t even have a chance to defend herself. Duke pinned her arms behind her back and pushed her quite harshly against the nearest wall.

“Duke! I thought you were in trouble… That’s the only reason I stepped foot on the Cape Rouge without you giving me the okay!” Audrey tried to tell him.

“Did you come to kill me now, Audrey?”

“No!” she spoke up quickly. “Nathan said he talked to you… I thought that maybe you didn’t have hard feelings…” Audrey found her jacket being removed. Duke was rifling through her jacket with one hand and holding her in place with the other. The clank of metal made her shiver slightly. The metal hit her wrists and she tried to fight, but found herself being cuffed and flipped to face him before she could speak.

“I’m sure you thought it was funny… Nathan put me in a padded cell for three days,” Duke ranted. “And you know what? I did tell him that things were fine…and that I was sorry, but that was only so you wouldn’t stay away…”

“You didn’t want me to stay away?” Audrey asked, confusion deeply laced in her voice. “You just wanted to handcuff me?”

Duke smiled at her. “You see Audrey, even though you killed Reverend Driscoll, some of his friends found me. They’re going to help me figure out my answers… But I’m afraid that I’m going to need your help.”

“And you couldn’t just ask?”

“You’re not going to like how you’re going to help me, I’m sure,” Duke told her. “But trust me, it’ll be better for everyone. Better for Haven.”

“What are you talking about?” Audrey asked. She was suddenly terrified. Duke had always made her roll her eyes or make her laugh, she was pretty sure this was the first time that he actually made her fear for her life.

“It’s going to be better, Audrey,” Duke told her. “I promise you. Things won’t be so confusing.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ll see…” Duke told her. “But right now I need you quiet and cooperative. I hate to do this, but it’s the only way I know I can keep you calm.” Duke raised his hand, weapon in hand and knocked her over the head.

Audrey had tensed up and pulled in breath. The edges of her vision went first as her head pounded with a fury. The world went black next and her body gave out.

. . .

 

The rolling of the water woke her. Audrey slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She’d been there before. She was on the Cape Rouge in Duke’s bed. At least this time she was still in her clothes, though the handcuffs and duct tape keeping her bound and gagged wasn’t an improvement. Actually, it made her heart speed up and fill her with a sense of dread. What was Duke up to?

At least she knew that fifteen minutes after she arrived at the harbor, Vince and Dave would have arrived. They would have recognized her car and called Nathan when she didn’t surface. Nathan would be upset with her, but he’d put a call out for the Cape Rouge. Someone would have seen the Cape Rouge. It wouldn’t take too long for Nathan to find her.

Tears fell down her face. He cries were muffled by the duct tape, but Audrey still let it out. Nathan was going to be disappointed in her. She knew he couldn’t stay mad, but his disappointment would eat away at her. She didn’t think it would get to this…if anything she thought that she’d just get yelled at to leave. Not this.

Some time passed but Duke eventually appeared. She still didn’t know what to think. She didn’t know what Duke was up to. She couldn’t ask questions.

“It’s going to be okay, Audrey,” Duke told her as he moved her so she was in a sitting position.

Audrey allowed it, but wasn’t appeased by his repeating of what he’d said before. She didn’t know it was going to be okay. She was scared out of her mind. She honestly wasn’t sure how long she’d been out, so she couldn’t tell how long Nathan should have been looking for her. He removed the tape from her mouth that hurt, but she didn’t scream. She tried to breathe and to stay calm. This was her chance. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

“I’m sorry I had to do this, but I couldn’t risk you hurting yourself.”

When he reached out and fixed her hair, Audrey pulled back at first in shock. She was still slightly afraid that Duke would brandish a gun and then be threatening to kill her. It was odd seeing him suddenly in this caring state towards her. “Duke, where are we going?” she asked gently. She couldn’t risk setting him off, though.

“Somewhere that exists for you… Somewhere to start over,” Duke told her. “I know that things are hard right now, but they’re going to be better. You won’t remember any of the pain or confusion or indecision.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ll see…”

She watched as he unbound her legs and used the key to unlock the handcuffs. He straightened and offered her a hand. Audrey honestly was confused by Duke’s actions. What was he planning? Maybe those seventy-two hours weren’t long enough? She took his hand and took the offered help to her feet. After all, she wanted to know what Duke was babbling about.

They went above deck and she found that there was another boat running alongside them. She didn’t recognize it. They were close to shore. Audrey wasn’t sure where they were, but she hoped they hadn’t gone too far…that they were still in Maine.

. . .

 

Duke and his “friends” marched her through the forest and they stood before a house. A house that looked old and Audrey wondered where they were and why they were there. Why was this place so important? “Where are we?”

“At your destiny,” one of the men spoke up.

Audrey really wasn’t liking this. If she needed to, she could run. She knew that. The only problem there was that Duke’s “friends” had come prepared with guns. They’d likely shoot her in the back if she tried to make a run for it.

“Go to the door and go inside,” one of the other men said.

“I think I’m going to stay out here,” Audrey told them as she looked around wildly. Were they planning to kill her inside this old house? Somewhere where no one would hear her scream or find her body?

“Duke, I told you it might come to this,” one of the men said.

“Audrey, please don’t make this difficult…” Duke said, his voice was gentle but stern.

Audrey turned to face him. “What’s going to happen to me if I cooperate? Or you all just going to kill me the moment I step inside?”

“No one’s killing anyone!” came a familiar voice.

Audrey turned towards where the voice was coming from. It was Nathan. Nathan was there, finally. Of course, she knew it took time, but she was so worried about being killed only a few minutes before. She figured that they’d scatter or just back down, but they raised their weapons in Nathan’s direction instead. “No!” she shouted. “Duke! Tell them not to shoot him!” Audrey started to yell at Duke. She looked towards the direction she’d heard Nathan’s voice. “Don’t come any closer, Nathan!”

She knew Nathan’s trouble would keep him from feeling any bullets, but that didn’t mean that he was impervious to them. He was mortal like all of them. Audrey turned to Duke, hoping he would stop it. He and Nathan had their differences, but she doubted that Duke wanted him killed. “Duke, stop this! Please!”

“Get into the house, Audrey,” Duke said a little too calmly. “And I promise you, Nathan won’t be harmed.”

“What will happen to me?”

“I promise that you won’t be harmed.”

“What does it do?” Audrey asked. She was almost in tears now. She didn’t want anything to happen to Nathan but she was worried about her wellbeing. A blow to her head, pain ebbed through her, and then the world faded around her again.

. . .

 

“It’s going to be okay, Audrey,” Nathan said.

Audrey opened her eyes and smiled up at him. It was a relief to see him. He looked worried still, though. He held her in his arms and she lifted her head to notice that Nathan was carrying her towards the house. They were being escorted by Duke’s armed “friends”. It wasn’t a good sign.

“Nathan…” Audrey said slowly.

“They didn’t give me a choice,” Nathan told her.

“Oh we did, you just preferred her to be alive,” one of the men spoke up.

“I’m not leaving you,” Nathan told her as they came closer to the old house.

Audrey held tight to Nathan. She had no idea what was going to happen once they stepped into the house. It didn’t sound like it was the place to be shot in, but that didn’t make Audrey feel better. She was still absolutely terrified, especially with Nathan there. She didn’t want to hurt him…or be the cause of it.

“Nathan, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Audrey said quietly.

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “We’re together. Right now, that’s all that matters.” They waited there, anxiety filled, as one of the men opened the door and then motioned for them to go inside. “Whatever this is…we’ll face it together, like we’ve done before…”

“Inside!”

Audrey gripped Nathan tighter as she felt him taking them both inside. What awaited inside? Death? Something worse? Monsters? A prison?

Darkness.

. . .

 

Her eyes opened and took in the darkening sky above. She blinked for a moment. Where was she? There were trees; she could see the high tops of them. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, Audrey looked around and found a man unconscious next to her. Instinctively she reached to check for a pulse. He was alive. That was good, at least, right? Where was she?

“Audrey! Nathan!” a voice called.

She got to her feet and looked around. Imprinted in the grass was a discolored rectangular imprint in which she and the man were in the center of. She looked back to the man. He was handsome and kind looking. There was something familiar… She couldn’t quite place her finger on it, but she felt like she knew him.

“Audrey! Nathan!”

Audrey’s head turned as she heard the voice and then another voice calling the names. Audrey…Nathan…it was familiar, but she didn’t know why. She suddenly realized that she was crying, she touched her cheeks to feel the tears that were marking trails on her cheeks.

Who was she?

“Someone help me!” Audrey shouted. She moved towards the man and shook him a bit. With any luck, he’d wake and know the answers to questions that were compiling in her head.

“Audrey! We’re coming!” the voice yelled.

Audrey…was she Audrey? She supposed that she could be Audrey. The name wasn’t awful. She stayed put, though, hopeful for help. A man appeared followed closely by a handful of armed men. Who were they? Why were they armed? “Hello? Can you help me?”

“Audrey? Are you okay? We’ve been looking for you and Nathan!” the man said.

“Am…am I Audrey?” she asked, more tears falling from her eyes.

He nodded. “Yes, you’re Audrey Parker… You don’t remember?”

She shook her head. “Do I know you?”

“Oh Sweetheart, of course you do…”

“I’m sorry, I don’t remember.”

“I’m Duke,” he told her as he reached out and gently touched her face.

“I don’t know who he is,” Audrey said as she turned back to the unconscious man.

Duke squeezed her hand and helped her to her feet. “Nathan Wuornos…you work with him and he’s a good friend of ours. You were both up here for work, investigating something…”

“Investigating?” she questioned.

“Haven P.D.,” Duke told her. “There’s time to talk about all of this.” He pulled her into a hug and held her there for a moment.

In some ways the embrace felt right, but in the ways that should feel right it felt wrong. She didn’t know why. Maybe it was because she didn’t remember…maybe it was because she was confused. She looked back towards the unconscious man. There was something there…she had to remember.

“They’ll be time to figure out what happened later,” Duke said. “But right now, we’re going to get you both back to Haven.”

Back to Haven… Audrey closed her eyes for a moment. Flashes of Duke and Nathan flashed through her mind followed by other memories. They were just flashes though. There was no context. Nothing made sense. Not right now anyway. “Right, back to Haven…” she whispered.

. . .

 

TBC…


	6. Different Lives

Chapter 6 – “Different Lives”

 

Audrey couldn’t sleep. Things felt wrong and she had this nagging feeling that everything was completely wrong. She’d been checked out by the doctors at the hospital, she was fine. They said that it was probably amnesia and that she’d most likely remember soon. It wasn’t comforting as far as she was concerned. She lie awake and when he moved beside her, she took the opportunity to get out of bed.

Her things were there, all of her things. It wasn’t her kind of place to live though. There was no order to it and there was no Audrey-ness infused in anything there (save for her things that were about). There was no compromise within those walls.

Pulling on jeans, she buttoned them and then stepped into her boots which were nearby. She didn’t bother with her bra. She didn’t plan on being up quite that long or really seeing anyone. Audrey snatched her jacket from where she’d hung it earlier. She pulled it on and zipped it up. Quietly, she snuck above deck.

Staring out at the water, it clicked…the hard truth of her current reality. She didn’t know what to trust. This didn’t feel right. It felt like she should be going left but everyone was telling her to go right. How could the Cape Rouge be her home? How could she be in a romantic relationship with Duke Crocker? She didn’t like the boat and it didn’t really look like she lived there… And though he seemed like a good guy, she didn’t really feel a spark there. He was charming, yes, but that was all he really had going for him. If she wanted just charming she was sure she could just lust after any prince in any Disney movie.

She’d fallen asleep briefly since they’d arrived at the Cape Rouge. She’d dreamt, but it had been more like a nightmare. It was enough to make her question everything and keep her up now. Audrey had dreamt that she was in the darkness. She remembered the absolutely vivid feeling of being terrified that the whole world was going to end. Maybe it did? And in this dream, she’d been calling Nathan’s name. She remembered being held and how that made it feel like the world was keep turning. She didn’t feel like that with Duke. Actually, she’d shrugged out of his embrace the first chance she’d gotten and had scooted all the way to the other edge of the bed before she’d finally gotten up.

“Why don’t I remember?” she asked aloud. It wasn’t to anyone in particular. She just was frustrated, with herself more than anything. For the most part, her life as she’d been told seemed right. Her name was Audrey Parker, though maybe that’s not who she really was…but that’s as the town of Haven knew her. She was an FBI agent, now Haven Police Officer and she’d come there for answers.

“It’s a bit late,” came a voice.

Audrey turned to see Duke standing behind her. Could she run? Would that be horrible of her? Would it be wrong of her to tell him that she really couldn’t stand being there right now? “I couldn’t really sleep…”

“Did I tell you about the first time we met?” Duke asked.

“No,” Audrey asked as she turned back to stare out at the water.

“You were on the docks and a lightning strike hit an electrical box near you. You were blasted into the water. Unconscious and drowning. Lucky for you, I’m always eager to save damsels in distress. I fished you out, put you in dry clothes, and let you sleep in my bed. Of course when you woke up you were very cross with me.”

“A girl likes to be conscious for having her clothes removed most times,” Audrey told him over her shoulder before turning back to the water.

“That and I tried to be nice and give you a replacement phone and instead you were upset because of the replacement I got you…”

“It was a princess phone,” she responded like it was nothing. Audrey stopped for a moment; she suddenly realized that that was something that she remembered. She did remember that. At that time, she was fairly new in Haven. She was still FBI.

“That’s right…” he said slowly. “Is that all you remember?”

“For now,” she whispered. His hands snaked around her waist and she shivered. “Will I sound horrible if I tell you I honestly can’t sleep here?”

He was silent for a moment, probably processing things. “The doctor said that things may be uncomfortable and hard for you at first.”

“I guess it’s hard when nothing feels like home because you just can’t remember what home feels like or where it is,” Audrey told him. She hoped that he’d accept her response. In part it was true, but in part she knew that there was something wrong. She couldn’t place her finger on it, not yet…but she would.

“I’m pretty sure your old bed is still up in the apartment above the Gull.”

“The Gull?”

“The Grey Gull… My restaurant and bar.”

Audrey nodded. “Right.”

“You don’t remember?”

“No.”

“Well, I’m sure you will.”

. . .

 

Audrey had slept only two hours at the Grey Gull and then had made her way into the station without seeing Duke that mornings. She’d purposely left before he had told her he was going to arrive. She just couldn’t do it. She needed her space. Him being in Haven was too close for her at the moment. She’d arrived and found her desk and then had fallen asleep at it about fifteen minutes later.

“Sleeping on the job?”

She was nudged and her consciousness pushed away the nudging. She just wanted to sleep. The station, at her desk, felt more like home than the Cape Rouge or the Grey Gull had felt. She just wanted a couple of hours and then she would be good.

“Parker.”

That voice. She stirred. Nathan. Her mind flashed back to the black void that she’d dreamt of before. Her heart raced and her breathing matched. Terror filled her mind and she so desperately wanted to grasp the comfort in those arms she remembered. She was nudged again, this time a bit harder. “Nathan!” she screamed and found herself sitting up and wide awake.

“Um…yes?”

She turned to find her boss. Chief Nathan Wuornos standing there looking quite shocked and quite confused. She was pretty sure that there was something really wrong with dreaming about your boss. “Um…sorry…”

“I just wanted to let you know that you’re cleared.”

“Cleared?”

“Apparently you shot Reverend Driscoll—“

“I shot a reverend?”

“If it makes you feel any better you were defending a girl.”

“You’d think I would remember something so big,” Audrey said as she turned in the chair to face him fully. “That seems like it would be a really big deal in Haven…”

“If it makes you feel any better, when I looked at the picture I didn’t feel bad about it.”

Audrey tilted her head. “Are you trying to tell me that you don’t care that he’s dead?”

“Well, I’m not sad, that’s for sure,” Nathan said as he lifted his mug of coffee to his lips. “Actually, I was sort of happy.”

“You’re going to burn yourself,” she chastised as she got to her feet and stole the cup away. She sipped it and then made a face. “You’ve really got to be careful, Nathan. This thing may need like ten minutes before it’s really cool enough to drink.” Audrey stopped and just stared at the cup like it was the best thing in her life. What she’d done, she knew she’d done it before. It felt right. Besides sleeping at her desk, this was the first thing that had truly felt right to her.

It was like a huge puzzle piece had fallen in place. She stared up at him. “Have you remembered anything?” she asked. Audrey knew that they had said that Nathan was suffering from amnesia as well, but she wondered if anything felt wrong to him as well. Maybe they could help each other put the pieces into place.

“Not really…” Nathan said. “You?”

“Besides the coffee thing? No,” Audrey admitted. “Everything feels wrong, though. Duke says I live there on the Cape Rouge with him…that we’re a couple. It doesn’t feel right.”

“Well you don’t remember, so shouldn’t it feel weird?”

“But this,” she said motioning to him and then back to her. “This feels so right to me.”

“I don’t know…”

“Can we close the door for a minute?” she asked glancing over to the door. He nodded and then closed it. She set his coffee down and turned back to him. “I had this dream…it was more like a nightmare… I was having it right before you woke me up. I was in the dark, but I think you were there too. It was frightening…”

“The dark?”

Audrey shrugged. “I never said it made sense. I just know that there was something to fear. I think you held me…and I remember calling your name.”

“That’s…weird…”

She felt frustration filling her again. Audrey wished Nathan had remembered something. She found herself flinging herself at him, hugging him, hoping that it would bring up some memories. Audrey held him tight and his arms returned the hug after a minute. It felt like lightning struck as she closed her eyes. It was like her life flashed back before her eyes. She knew who she was…she knew who Nathan was…what he meant to her…and she knew that Duke had been lying.

Audrey gasped and pulled back after a moment. “Please tell me that you remember too. If I’m stuck in some kind of day loop again, I may just let myself get hit by the car this time.”

“Don’t say things like that,” Nathan said quite seriously. He reached out and pulled her back to him, wrapping his arms around her before placing a kiss on her head. “Did Duke hurt you?”

She shook her head. “He acted like we were together.”

“Did he…”

“No,” Audrey said quickly. “I really just didn’t want to be near him… Plus, you know girls are pretty good at excuses…especially when they’ve been recently hospitalized.”

“I’m going to kill him…”

“Shhh…” she cooed and then pulled away. She walked to the door and made sure that the blinds were closed. She didn’t need anyone looking into her office…the office that she and Nathan had shared for so long.

“What are you doing?”

“Duke’s obviously up to something,” Audrey told him. “I think some of those men were the rev’s men.”

“Probably… Dwight was there, but I haven’t seen him since we came back,” Nathan said. “Back up was supposed to be coming, but maybe someone called them off…” He stared at her for a long minute. “We can’t just let this slide… I know that Duke’s your friend…but…”

“I’m just saying that maybe we should let this play out for a little bit longer,” Audrey said. “Except I plan on not stepping a foot on the Cape Rouge…” She shuddered slightly at the memory of Duke touching her bare skin.

Nathan frowned at her. He didn’t like it. He honestly wanted to find Dwight and send him on a mission to bash some sense into Duke and then banish him from Haven. It seemed like between him and Audrey that Duke had had a million chances to make things up to both of them…but here he was screwing things up again.

“If we do this, Nathan, maybe we can find out about that house…” Audrey told him. “What if that’s what happened twenty-seven years ago? What if that’s why no one remembers what happened to the Colorado Kid?”

“They just transported a house onto the shores of Haven and then made it disappeared once it wiped everyone’s memories?” Nathan asked. “We taking pages out of Star Trek now?”

Audrey shrugged. “I didn’t say it was the best explanation, but you saw it… It was gone when we woke up. What else could have happened? Houses don’t just disappear like that.”

“We should go back…”

“We can’t…not right now…”

Nathan leaned back against her desk and crossed his arms over his chest. He stared at her. “Last night, you know what I did?”

“What?”

“I stared at my calendar and wondered why I was so happy to be going on vacation in two weeks…”

Audrey stopped and looked at him. “The vacation…”

“I don’t care what the hell Duke decided to do. If this is some kind of coup… As far as I’m concerned, when we hit vacation day, we’re getting into the bronco and going up for a few days of relaxation…” Nathan told her. “I’m not letting him take that from us.”

She walked towards him and reached out to take his hands, unfolding them from how he’d had them on his chest. “We’ll go on our vacation,” she promised as she squeezed his hands. “I promise… Let’s just let this play out for a couple more days…see where they’re going with this…”

“Duke and the rev’s men could have someone watching us…” Nathan told her. “They could already know that we know…”

“I doubt that thought that us touching would break that spell,” Audrey told him. She let his hands fall and then walked around to the other side of him. She picked up the coffee and sipped it again. “Mmmm…it’s good now…” she told him after taking a quick sip and then a longer one. “I think I want a cup now…” She passed it to him.

He took it, grateful for her watching out for him. “We’ll give it three days,” he told her. “That’s it.”

Audrey nodded.

“I’m going to ask Dwight to keep an eye on you,” Nathan told her.

“I can take care of myself,” Audrey said as she leaned against her desk, standing next to him.

“I’m more worried about Duke,” Nathan state honestly. “I’ve known him all my life, remember? I know what he’s capable and I know how his mind works. It’ll make me feel better if there’s someone keeping an eye on you. If I could do it, I would…but I need to keep up appearances and play my role in all of this…”

She sighed and then nodded. “That’s true…”

“He’ll keep his distance.”

“And if Duke crosses the line?”

“I’ll make sure I give him permission to break something,” Nathan told her.

She shook her head.

“I’m dead serious.”

“Oh, I know you are,” she said with a slight laugh. “I may break something of Duke’s, though, if that happens before Dwight can get there.”

“That’s fine. I guarantee you that Duke will deserve anything that’s coming to him,” Nathan said. “Especially after this…”

“You’ve been in here a while with the blinds closed…” Audrey pointed out. She was sad to make him go, but he couldn’t hide out in there. If his father was still alive or someone else was chief, then they’d have reason to both hide out there together…but that wasn’t the case anymore. “I’m sorry,” she whispered and kissed his cheek.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Playing along is my idea,” Audrey confessed. “But I’m suddenly so happy to remember you and us…and I don’t really want to let that go…”

“I know,” he whispered sadly. “Three days,” Nathan repeated. He moved away from her desk and headed for the door. He opened the door and turned back towards her, trying to use a stern tone. “I better not catch you sleeping on your desk again, Parker.”

“Sorry, Sir,” she said quickly trying not to laugh.

. . .

 

TBC…


	7. Covert Mission

Chapter 7 – “Covert Mission”

 

“I know this has to all be confusing to you,” Duke told her. He was preparing dinner. He had been trying to appease her since she arrived back at the Cape Rouge.

“It is,” Audrey admitted. “Are you sure you’re not going to be upset with me staying at the apartment above the Grey Gull for a bit?”

“No,” Duke said as he looked over his shoulder at her. “I want you to be comfortable.”

Audrey smiled at him and nodded. “I appreciate that.”

“So, was it weird at the station?”

“Weird that the chief of police and I both don’t remember?” Audrey asked. “It was a bit odd. Nothing felt right,” she lied. She had to lie. Everything had felt right at the station, she’d actually felt a bit empty when she’d stepped outside of those doors. She’d left Nathan behind. She couldn’t touch him. They had to be secretive…for a bit. Right now, Duke couldn’t know. She wanted to know what was going on.

There were secrets everywhere. Audrey honestly didn’t think there existed another town in the whole world that had so many secrets. She was really starting to feel like so much of her was a secret. She was sure people knew. Audrey wasn’t a local though. It would take time, she was pretty sure that Doctor Carr had said that it would take about five years before she could claim local status. She really didn’t want to wait years upon years to really know who she was.

“How was Nathan?”

“You guys grew up together, right?” Audrey asked.

Duke nodded. “Yeah.”

“Has he always not been able to feel? He burned himself on coffee today and didn’t even realize it,” Audrey lied.

“It’s his trouble,” Duke said as he worked on dishing up dinner. “I thought we talked about this last night? About the troubled…”

“It’s a lot to take in, I guess,” she said with a shrug. This was a lot harder than she had expected. Of course, she knew that Duke wasn’t going to just tell her everything. It couldn’t be that easy. No, she was going to have to work her way into his confidence. Not having her memory, or so he thought, would help with that but she was sure that he was still suspicious. Duke was always like that. “My brain’s just not holding everything.”

“Look, the troubled are pretty hated in town. But that doesn’t matter. You, me, and Nathan…we’re friends. Nathan’s troubled, but I wouldn’t hurt him.”

“Am I troubled?” Audrey asked.

It was a question that she still wondered about. Was being immune to the troubles a trouble? Was it like Nathan’s not being able to feel? It was a trouble, but it didn’t really affect the whole town. It wasn’t like her emotions affecting the weather.

“Don’t know that I’d label you troubled,” Duke said honestly. He set the plates down on the tabletop and sat down across from Audrey. “I mean, you not being affected by them…that’s strange. I guess…I guess that means you’re troubled,” he said as he tried to take in the idea of Audrey being one of the troubled.

“But you don’t care?”

“You’re my friend above anything else.”

“Nathan too?” Audrey asked.

“Yes,” Duke told her as he stared at her.

She saw truth in his eyes. She was sure Nathan wasn’t going to trust Duke. Not after everything, but she believed him. Believed that he wouldn’t really hurt her or Nathan. Audrey wasn’t sure what to think though. Grief did a lot to a person and maybe Duke was still figuring things out. She just hoped he figured out where his allegiance lay sooner rather than later.

“You have a lot of questions,” Duke commented as he pushed her plate a tad bit closer to her. He wanted to change the subject or at least eat there in silence.

Audrey shrugged. “I don’t remember things… I’m just trying to figure out things.” She picked up her fork and started to eat to appease him. She could tell that Duke wasn’t comfortable with all her questions. She’d have to keep from piling on all of them at once, but she honestly didn’t want to be stuck pretending for long. She wanted things to be somewhat normal. However normal it got in Haven…

“How is it?” Duke asked after taking a bite of his own.

Audrey nodded. “Really good. Thank you,” she said as she looked up at him and flashed him a smile.

“Glad you like it,” he replied with a bright smile.

This was awkward. Beyond awkward. She was sure that once this charade was over that Nathan was going to want to shoot Duke (which Audrey wouldn’t allow), but she thought that Duke really just needed some psychiatric care. Maybe some time in the Freddy. That could do him some good. He’d been through a lot lately and that was enough to make anyone break.

“I was thinking, maybe we should get away this weekend,” Duke spoke up after they both ate in silence for a bit. “Take the boat out. We don’t have to fish or anything… Might just be nice to have a change of scenery.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I might be called in…”

“I think medically you deserve the time off,” Duke said. “I’m sure Nathan will understand that.”

“Maybe.”

Duke shook his head, a smile still firmly on his face. “You don’t remember anything except unconsciously you remember you’re a workaholic!”

“What?”

“You,” Duke said. “You can never say ‘no’ to your job. Always trying to save the world.”

“I must be good at it.”

Duke shrugged. “Seems that way, but they’re not all wins. Sometimes you lose and it’s hard for you. I honestly don’t know how you can keep putting yourself through that.”

“Probably because I have to at least try…”

“Give yourself a break from saving the world, Audrey.”

“I’ll ask Nathan,” Audrey said quietly. She already knew what the response would be. There would probably be a door closing and then yelling and arguing. Nathan knew Duke longer than she did, but she felt like she knew Duke better than Nathan did. She also thought (hoped even) that she could control Duke. She didn’t think that Duke would push lines. And if he tried to push things, well then Audrey would push back…possibly with her knee to his crotch.

She knew that Nathan would feel like it wasn’t fair. He was so looking forward to going on their trip. It was about a week away and Audrey honestly couldn’t blame him. Right now, all she wanted to do was to run away from Haven (for a while at least) with Nathan. To be held in his arms and just to have him nearby. This, being so far apart and pretending,; it was killing her. It was probably killing him, too.

“What are you thinking?” Duke asked.

“Huh?” Audrey asked and then Duke’s question processed through her brain a moment later. He was about to repeat his question when she responded before he could. “I was just zoning…I guess… Like I said, it’s all been a lot. My job seems to come naturally, but not remembering people…memories…it seems like there’s a whole in my life. A huge one. It’s really frustrating.”

“You’ll remember…in time,” Duke told her.

She just smiled and nodded.

. . .

 

“This is ridiculous, Audrey! You’re not going with him!” Nathan yelled. His door was closed and the blinds were drawn, so they had as much privacy as they could want in the police station. “Duke’s already proven himself dangerous! And you want to go out to sea with him?! I can’t protect you there…”

She waited patiently for him to stop. Eventually he’d need to breathe…or pace again. Possibly both. He finally remained quiet for more than a second, so she spoke up. Her voice was soft and quiet. “I know, Nathan… I can take care of myself, though, especially if it’s just Duke. I’ll take my firearms…he may know I’ll have the one, but I doubt he’d be suspicious of me carrying.”

Nathan’s phone on his desk rang and he picked it up. “Wuornos.” He nodded and then sighed. “I understand. Send them in.” By the time Nathan set the handset down, his door was opening. The Teagues brothers had let themselves in and then closed the door behind them quickly. “What can we do for you two?” Nathan walked around his desk and leaned against it, his arms crossing over his chest.

“We heard what happened,” Vince started.

“We’re sorry it took so long to get here to warn you,” Dave said. “But we’ve been kept busy and I swear we’re being followed.”

“Warn us about what?” Audrey asked.

“You two don’t remember… They did that to you,” Vince spoke up.

“We know,” Audrey and Nathan said together and then smiled at each other a moment after.

“Oh…” Dave spoke up a moment later.

Vince looked between the two of them. “Then you know that you two should be together and not Audrey and Duke?”

“If this is another lecture, I’m kicking you out now,” Audrey told them.

“Lecture?” Nathan asked.

“I’ll explain later…”

“They’re trying to erase how far you two have come,” Dave said. “Like they erased you before… We can’t let that happen… We need you both.”

“We’re trying to get some information from Duke,” Audrey explained. “I’m only pretending not to remember to try to get close enough to him to find out his plan and the players.”

“We’d appreciate you two not saying a word,” Nathan said. “We’re not letting it play out much longer…”

Dave and Vince nodded. “We can do that.”

“Good.”

“You two are together now, right?” Vince asked curiously.

Audrey smiled and shook her head. “You two never give up, do you?”

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about…”

Audrey looked to Nathan who gave her a nod. “Yes, Nathan and I are together…”

Vince and Dave exchanged excited looks between them. “Well then, we’ll leave you two lovebirds alone then,” Vince said and tugged at his brother’s sleeve. “Come along, Dave.”

Audrey just shook her head as the two of them disappeared just as quickly as they’d arrived there. They were definitely characters.

“Lecture?” Nathan asked, his eyebrows raised as he waited for a response.

“I got lectured before…when I was Dave and Vince…about how I needed to express my feelings to you. How it was obvious and we were the only ones not admitting it,” Audrey explained as simply as she could.

“Good thing they let us sort that out instead of us reading about it in the Haven Herald,” Nathan told her. “With those two I wouldn’t be surprised at what they’d do to further what they believe is right.”

Audrey sighed. “Well maybe now they’ll be appeased.”

“Well, I’m not appeased… I still don’t think any of this is a good idea.”

Audrey frowned and closed the distance between them. “You trust me, right?”

Nathan nodded. “You, I trust. I don’t trust Duke.”

“So, trust that I can look after myself and that everything will be fine…”

“If you’re out at sea, you’re not going to have reception,” Nathan pointed out. “At least let me get you a satellite phone for you to borrow. Just in case. You can tell Duke that I made you take it, as your boss.”

“He’d believe that… He thinks it’s funny that I don’t remember anything, except that I’m a workaholic,” Audrey told him.

Nathan closed the short distance that still remained between them. He reached out and touched her hair and then the side of her face. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I’ll be careful, I promise.”

“I wish we could just take off now…” Nathan said and leaned in and kissed her forehead. He allowed his forehead to rest against hers for a moment and pulled her closer with his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and wished that he didn’t have to let her go. “It’s still dangerous out there…people are still upset about the rev.”

“I know,” Audrey told him. “But most of them, I think, are appeased since I don’t remember anything. The rev’s men were helping Duke. I think that says something.”

“It says they wouldn’t hesitate to do it again and next time, they’d probably just shoot us both.”

Audrey frowned. “Let’s try to not be so pessimistic about things.”

“I like to think of it as realistic.”

She leaned in and kissed him. She needed to remind him that things would be alright. They’d already come this far, she wasn’t about to let them slip back into nothingness. She’d find out what Duke and the rev’s men were up to. She’d find out about the house that wipes your memories and then disappears. And then…then they could go back to being in reality. But for now, she’d have to continue to pretend.

Nathan deepened the kiss and then was interrupted by the knock on his door. He pulled away quickly and hurried back to his desk. He didn’t want to. He would just stay there with Audrey in his arms and her lips on his all day, but they were still pretending. “Come in.”

The door opened and they both turned to see Duke standing there. “Hey,” Audrey greeted with a smile.

“Am I interrupting?” Duke asked.

“No,” they both said quickly.

Duke looked between them. “I’m missing something going on here…”

“What do you want, Duke?” Nathan asked quickly.

“I was just dropping lunch by for you both. I figured that you probably wouldn’t have the time to have a proper lunch.” He turned to Audrey. “I put the lunch on your desk. I was wondering if you had remembered to ask about this weekend?”

“I did…and Nathan said yes,” Audrey said looking from Duke to Nathan.

“But I have a condition,” Nathan said. “Since she’s supposed to be on call.”

“What’s the condition?” Duke asked.

“I have to bring along a satellite phone,” Audrey said.

“Is that really necessary?”

“It’s not a big deal,” Audrey defended. “Probably won’t even be used. But if there’s some kind of emergency then I need to know. Plus, it’s not going to really hurt anything to bring it along.”

“That’s true,” Duke said. He nodded. “Okay. Well don’t be too serious in here. Eat something,.” He leaned in and kissed Audrey’s cheek before waving at Nathan and leaving.

Audrey saw the anger in Nathan’s eyes. She motioned for him to stay there. “Breathe,” she whispered. She reached up and wiped at where Duke had kissed her. Thank God, Duke hadn’t kissed her on the lips in front of Nathan. Audrey probably wouldn’t have been able to stop the fight if that had happened.

“He-“

“I know! But he thinks he’s my boyfriend,” Audrey yelled whispered at him and then shuddered when she said the part about Duke being her boyfriend. She waited a moment before crossing his office. She turned to make sure that the blinds were still closed and that his door was still shut. Audrey went and sat on the edge of his desk so that she was only inches from his chair. “You’re the one I want to be with, Nathan. You know that… I know this is hard…”

“This weekend, that’s it. If you don’t get anything, then it’s over,” Nathan said quickly. “I don’t want to pretend anymore.”

Audrey nodded. Tears threatened to fall. It was hard. She wanted to be with Nathan. She wished that she could cheer him up, that they could just have dinner tonight. That couldn’t happen yet. She knew how much this upset him. She knew how special their connection was…especially for Nathan. “I’m sorry this is so hard…” she reached out and touched his face.

“I really haven’t had any relationships in a very long while where I’ve been jealous,” Nathan admitted. “I’ll admit that him touching you makes me want to throw him through my office window. “ He tried to stay calm. He tried to keep his voice even. “But this weekend is it. It’s going to kill me that I can’t keep an eye on you.”

“There’s always the Coast Guard,” she reminded. “Though, I think that Duke would think that was odd.”

“I may send Dwight out there,” Nathan said. “For my sanity.”

Audrey nodded. “I wouldn’t mind that. It’d feel a bit better.”

“Promise me,” Nathan said. “This weekend and that’s it.”

“I promise.”

. . .

 

TBC…


	8. Rocky Seas

Chapter 8 – “Rocky Seas”

 

The weekend was supposed to be clear skies and sunshine. When Friday rolled around, it was dark and rainy. Duke still had insisted on going out. Audrey really didn’t feel so great about that. She knew that boats didn’t let storms hold them up, but with Haven…she preferred to be safe when she could.

“It really doesn’t look good,” Audrey said. She followed Duke around on the Cape Rouge as he prepared it.

“It’s fine.”

“That’s a massive storm system heading our way,” she said as she pointed to the skyline.

“I’ve taken the Cape Rouge out in worse,” Duke told her. “Trust me. I know this boat.”

Trust him. That wasn’t really what she wanted to do right now. She wanted to get off the damned boat. Audrey stared back at the dock as Duke finally got his boat underway. The rain was already falling and in the distance she could see Nathan and Dwight standing there. She was sure that he was worried as hell. She didn’t blame him. She needed this extra bit of time with Duke, though. To try to crack what was going on.

She wanted to wave. Audrey didn’t want to bring attention to them though. She was trying to remain as still as she could. She pulled up the hood on the rain jacket she’d brought along. It was then that she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled it out and read the text message. ‘Stay safe.’ She typed in a reply. ‘I will. I’ll be back soon.’ She wanted to get the message out before she got too far.

Duke looked over to her. “Don’t tell me that Nathan’s trying to get you back to the station already.”

Audrey smiled. “No, he just texted to say for us to be safe.”

“Ah. That’s nice.”

“I thought so. Thoughtful.”

Duke nodded. “See…it’s just some rain… Nothing too dangerous. I figure we’ll go out a few miles away from Haven and then just coast with the waves for a while.”

It didn’t sound exciting. It sounded like an excuse for him to get her away from Haven. It also gave him the excuse for them to sleep in the only bed he had onboard. She wasn’t sure how that was going to work and was thankful that Nathan hadn’t brought that up before she’d left. Of course, he may not have realized it. Once he did, he’d probably flip.

“Are you sure we have everything?” she asked. Audrey figured that now was the time to ask. If they got out a ways and then realized they had forgotten something then it would be quite a trek to get back to Haven.

“Yes,” Duke said. “We have everything. I even made sure that we have plenty of food for some delicious meals.”

. . .

 

The day felt like it just went on forever. Audrey had tried to keep busy, but that wasn’t easy. It had been mostly raining. She’d played a few games of solitaire, she got smart after the first time she’d tried to do it on the table and the boat had shifted and all the cards had gone flying everywhere. She’d sat on the bed and the fabric of the blanket on top had been enough to keep the cards mostly in place.

What time was it? Surely it was Sunday and they were heading back to the harbor in Haven… She knew that was a lie. It was still Friday… She looked over at the clock on the bedside table. It wasn’t even lunch yet. She sighed. Audrey wanted it to be over. She knew that most people wished for weekends to last forever, but she just wanted this one to be over. She wanted to be back with Nathan.

“You know you don’t have to hide down here,” Duke said.

Audrey looked up. “Who’s steering the boat?”

“I thought maybe we’d stop off at The Knot.”

“You mean the little island where we almost got killed on my last birthday?” she blurted out, surprising herself and Duke.

“Yeah…” he said slowly and eyed her.

“I guess I remember that…sort of…” Audrey said, trying to recover. She couldn’t screw up now. She didn’t even know what Duke was up to yet.

“Well, that’s good. Some things are coming back to you.”

Audrey nodded. “You got me a locket.”

“That’s right.”

She smiled. “Has the weather passed?”

“No, it’s still raining pretty hard. It’s why I figured I’d keep her here for a while. No one’s occupying the island currently so I figured that we wouldn’t have to watch out for chameleons.”

“That’s always a plus.”

“I thought so,” he said and moved to sit down with her. “Playing solitaire? Not so exciting.”

“I didn’t feel like standing out in the rain,” Audrey told him honestly. “With my luck, I’d probably get knocked off the boat and lost in the sea.”

“I wouldn’t let that happen,” Duke told her and reached out to gently caress her face.

She wanted to pull away….to tell him that he couldn’t touch her… Instead, she fought instinct and pushed her face against his hand. “Not sure what you had planned for this weekend… I had sort of hoped that we’d stayed in Haven and seen the movie at the theatre.”

“Nathan would have called you if you were in town,” Duke said. “He’d ruin the whole weekend.”

“The world may need saving,” she teased lightly.

“It’s your weekend off—“

“Not technically—“

“Let Nathan save the world this weekend,” Duke told her.

. . .

 

Duke had the bright idea to go out onto the island where she’d once spent her birthday (mostly in a steamer trunk). Audrey hadn’t liked the idea. She knew that the chameleon was dead, but it still gave her the creeps. What if he wasn’t the only one? But she agreed. After all, she was packing. If she needed to, she could shoot something.

“See, this isn’t so bad,” Duke commented as they walked along the shore.

“That’s because there isn’t a torrential downpour for like two minutes,” Audrey teased. “It’s been raining nonstop pretty much since we left Haven. Not sure we’re going to have a lot of sunshine this weekend.”

“That’s okay,” Duke said with a smirk. “I’m sure I can think of some things we can do inside while it pours…”

“I’m sure you can,” she remarked.

“You know you really need to relax.”

“I’m relaxed.”

Duke shook his head. “No, you’re not. You’re still tense…and I’m sure you’d be able to go back to Haven and go right back to work…”

“What’s wrong with being dedicated to my job? Obviously I’m good at it…I must be, right?” Audrey asked, remembering that she wasn’t supposed to remember her life. It was hard, though. She obviously couldn’t just act stupid. Well she could, but that really just wasn’t like her. Plus, the doctors had told them before that it would probably be temporary.

“Yeah, I guess you’re pretty good at it,” Duke admitted.

“Thanks…loads of confidence in me, I see,” Audrey said and punched his shoulder for good measure. “You know…I’ve been remembering more about that day…”

“What day?” Duke asked.

“The day I forgot… I remember there being a house…and then there wasn’t a house…but it looked like there had been one there. The grass…it was depressed…and discolored… It doesn’t make sense…”

“I don’t think anyone’s ever lived in that area before, but I could be wrong…” Duke shrugged. “I wasn’t paying attention to what the grass looked like. I was more concerned about you being okay.” He moved closer to her and put an arm around her, pulling her closer as he did so.

“Well, I am okay…it’s still confusing, though…”

Duke stopped and pulled her closer.

Audrey automatically tensed up. She looked upward. “We should probably head back to the Cape Rouge…it looks like it’s going to let loose again…”

“We’ll dry…”

Audrey looked back to find Duke leaning towards her. She pulled back and out of her arms. Okay, so she hadn’t even made it twenty-four hours and she wanted to kill him. Okay, so technically she was leading him on…but she needed to for the information. “You’re going to tell me what happened that day, Duke… No more lies.”

“What are you talking about?” Duke asked.

He was clearly confused. “You kidnapped me… Took me to that place. Your friends almost killed Nathan…” Audrey blurted. Emotions rose in her and she tried as hard as she could to keep her tears from blurring her vision.

“Wha—you remember?” Duke asked.

“I only forgot for a day…and I really don’t think deep down that I really forgot…” Audrey told him. “Being at the station with Nathan was enough to bring about both of our memories… Funny how people are connected in Haven.”

“You and Nathan?” Duke sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “All this time…you’ve been pretending?”

“Tell me about the house… Why were you trying to erase us?”

Duke laughed. “You’d think that with you and Nathan being detectives and all that you would have figured it out by now.”

Audrey was angry. This wasn’t funny. She was being serious. She wanted answers and she wanted Nathan. She wanted the world to not be spinning out of control so quickly… Answers would help that. “Tell me!”

“Audrey, I tried to help you.”

“You weren’t helping! You were trying to re-write things!”

“They didn’t kill you,” he pointed out. “That’s what they wanted to do. To kill you both.”

“Why?!”

“Nathan’s troubled…and he’s the chief now,” Duke explained. “Why wouldn’t they want him dead? Everything else hasn’t worked out very well for them as they’ve been trying to replace him.”

“And me?” she asked. Tears were freely falling from her eyes now. She blinked away the tears.

“They wanted the cycle to end… They said that you just come back… You come back when the troubles return. They think that you cause them,” Duke explained. “I don’t believe that,” he admitted with a shrug. “But the opportunity to re-write history a bit was tempting… I thought I could make you happy, Audrey…”

Audrey shook her head. “Nathan’s been right not to trust you.”

“Of course he’s been right… He’s Nathan.”

“Take me back to Haven.”

“So you can do what? Tell Nathan? Put me in jail?”

“I don’t know…”

“If you tell Nathan, he’s just going to kill me.”

“He wouldn’t—“

“I’m sure he could come up with a list of reasons of why the world would be better off without me.”

Audrey shook her head. The tears still fell. She honestly wasn’t sure what to think about Duke’s betrayal. In one sense, she wanted to believe him. To believe that he’d saved their lives and that he was just trying to help…in his own twisted way. But on the other hand, she really didn’t know where Duke’s loyalties truly lay. That was the hard part. Nathan was her partner, her friend…and something so much more. She knew she could trust him. But Duke…she didn’t know what to think.

“Then leave Haven,” she found herself saying.

“I made a promise to stay in Haven if the troubles returned.”

“Then I guess you’ll have to keep your head low and avoid Nathan and I then,” Audrey told him flatly and wiped the tears from her eyes.

“That’s it?”

“I don’t know what else to say, Duke. You’ve made it clear through your actions that I can’t trust you…”

“They’ll kill you…and Nathan,” Duke told her.

Audrey stared at him. “Then let them come.”

“Audrey…”

“Nathan and I have jobs in Haven… To serve and protect all of the residents of Haven. If they’re troubled then they probably need us even more. I’m not going to run from that,” Audrey told him. “I’m not afraid…”

“You really should be.”

Audrey stared at him for a long moment. “Take me back to Haven.”

. . .

 

TBC…


	9. Vague Answers

Chapter 9 – “Vague Answers”

 

Their return to Haven was a silent one. No words were exchanged between them. There were brief glances, but Audrey was still upset. She stared off at where she was hopping to see the outline of Haven’s harbor soon. She was sure that Nathan would prefer that she call in and let him know what was going on, but she didn’t. She’d gone down below just lone enough to collect her bag and then had been sitting up on the main deck.

Time seemed to pass slowly, but it felt cathartic. Occasionally tears would fall again as she thought of what Duke had said. Was the world really coming down around them? Was her destiny to die? For Nathan to die too? She couldn’t accept that. She wouldn’t.

Eventually, Haven came into view and she felt her body tensing up. Worry filled her. What if Duke was right? Audrey closed her eyes and covered her face with her hands. Why couldn’t the world just slow down? Maybe she and Nathan just needed to go on their vacation now… To just get away… Maybe things would calm down while they were gone.

If only things worked like that. With their luck, things would be worse when they got back. They really needed to figure out how to turn things around… For the troubled in Haven…for everyone in Haven.

As the Cape Rouge approached its slot, Audrey noticed that Nathan was there waiting for her. No doubt that Dwight had called ahead and had told him that they were heading back for Haven. He’d want answers. She wasn’t sure that she really had the answers… Everything was vague…

Vague answers…

Would the ones that she had from Duke really help them? Would it make things worse? Could she really tell Nathan before she knew whether or not Duke could be trusted? She was still alive; she supposed that that was a big step for Duke after everything. She looked over her shoulder at him. He was staring off in the distance as he guided the ship in. He could probably do it with his eyes closed. Could she trust him? Could she chance trusting him?

“You’re back early.”

Audrey’s train of thought was broken and she turned towards the voice. She got up and took her bag with her. Carefully, she made her way off of the Cape Rouge. Her feet met the dock and she stood there besides Nathan. “Can we just go?” she asked quietly.

“What happened?” Nathan asked. He looked from Audrey to Duke and then back to Audrey. There was clearly something wrong. She’d come back two days early and she really wasn’t saying anything. He wasn’t sure what to think.

“I just want to go…” she repeated and looked up at him.

He could see that her eyes were stained red from tears. He looked back over at Duke briefly before nodding to Audrey and putting his arm around her. He guided her to where the Bronco was parked and opened the door for her.

. . .

 

“Are you going to talk to me?” Nathan finally asked. They’d returned to his place an hour before and Audrey had remained silent the whole time. It scared him. What had Duke done? What had Duke said? Why hadn’t she called to say she was returning back sooner? He wasn’t angry with her, he was concerned about her…Audrey wasn’t so closed down like this normally.

He’d given her the space she apparently wanted. She’d dropped her bag down by the door and she’d just been sitting on the couch zoning. Since it was about dinnertime, he’d gone to work trying to put together dinner. He figured that she needed to eat; he had no idea if she ate while she was out with Duke. Whatever was going on, she’d had her space and now he’d try to gently pry it out of her.

Pasta had been an easy thing to throw together, but still it had taken him some time. He’d boiled the water, thrown the pasta in, stirred here and there, and then had drained the water. Nathan had mixed the pasta, a jar of alfredo sauce, some frozen peas, and chunks of chicken he’d cooked up really quick into the pot the water had boiled in. It wasn’t fancy, but it had food groups in it, so Nathan was sure that that counted for something. He dished up for two and then had pulled two wine glasses. Nathan didn’t drink very often, but he figured that after everything maybe they could both use a glass of wine.

Setting everything out on the table, the proper one not the one in with the television, he made his way to where Audrey was planted. “You’re going to eat at the very least,” he told her and helped her to her feet and guided her towards the table.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Nathan stopped and blinked. At least she said something! That was a start. “I don’t think you have anything to be sorry about…”

“I started all of this…by shooting the rev.”

“If we’re going to go into this topic again, I swear I’m going to check you in to have your head examined. I told you that you did the right thing and you were cleared at work. How much more do you need to hear that your decision was right?” he asked as he guided her to her seat. He even pulled out the chair and then helped her push it back in.

“Duke…Duke’s not in the middle of things,” Audrey said. She wanted to be mad at him. She almost felt like she deserved to be mad at him. “He’s been through a lot in the last couple of weeks…”

“Did he find his answers?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Did you find your answers?”

“About why he did it?” Audrey asked. She shook her head. “It’s not an easy answer… I think he wanted to try to have a normal life… I don’t think he’s ever had that… I think that if Duke was troubled then maybe he’d feel more integrated…”

“Duke? I think he prefers to stand out,” Nathan told her.

Audrey shrugged. “He said that he was trying to save us,” she said finally. “They wanted to kill us both…”

“Why?”

“You’re in a place of power and they can’t control you… They’ve tried and failed to replace you,” Audrey said. “You support a group in Haven that they don’t support. You don’t put the troubled up to hang or anything…you try to help them.”

“That’s what most of them need,” Nathan told her.

“I know that,” Audrey said quickly.

“It’s like they want to relive the Salem Witch Trials or something… I won’t allow that to happen,” Nathan said.

“They think that if they kill me…that the troubles will stop…for good,” she said and looked up at him. “They think that I cause them…”

“You help people.”

“But what if they’re right?” she asked.

Nathan shook his head. “They’re not right. You help the troubled… Why would killing you mean that the troubles go away?”

“If they’re right,” Audrey said. She reached across the table and took his hands in hers. “You would be able to feel…anybody…not just me. All those who are troubled would be able to live their lives normally…”

“And it would only mean killing you…apparently?” Nathan asked. He shook his head. “I’d rather only feel you…this is normal for me… I don’t think I could live life differently…”

Audrey frowned. She was sure that this was hard for him to take in. No one knew enough about the troubles and how they all worked. It wasn’t like there was a big book somewhere that explained what each trouble was and who had it. If only it were that easy…

“Eat,” Nathan said a bit harshly. He didn’t like this conversation. He was suddenly weighing the idea of taking her in for psychiatric care…a seventy-two hour hold like he’d done with Duke. If she thought that her death would solve things…how wrong she was. He couldn’t believe that, not after all the people she’d helped…including him.

“Nathan,” she said gently.

“Please…eat,” he snapped quietly.

Audrey shrunk back a bit. She didn’t like the idea of him being upset with her. Though she really didn’t like the idea of being the person that could destroy him. What if they did try to kill Nathan? She’d been one of the people to push him to be chief. She’d been the one that had apparently brought a bit of life back to him.

“I won’t do it, you know…” Audrey said. And it was true, to an extent. “It’s not like I’m going to commit suicide just to see if the rev’s men are right…”

“They’re not right,” Nathan told her as he stared down at his food.

Audrey frowned. She got up from her chair and moved beside him. She put her hands on either side of his face and turned it so that he was looking at her. She kneeled down. “Nathan, listen to me. The only thing I kept thinking this whole time I was pretending…was you. I wouldn’t just leave you like that… I can’t…and I won’t. I need you to know that.”

“I worry about you,” he said truthfully. “You can’t take everything that is said to be truth.”

She nodded.

“Things will work out,” he told her and leaned in to kiss her forehead. “Though, be warned, I’m not letting you out of my sight for a while…”

Audrey smiled and blushed. She looked down for a moment but found Nathan lifting her face by her chin. He pressed his lips against hers and she welcomed the kiss. How she could live in these moments. They were precious and few right now, but she hoped for things to blossom. For life to continue on and to settle down…

“We’ll figure everything out…after dinner,” he said with a smile.

Audrey nodded after a moment. She got to her feet and made her way back to her seat. She wouldn’t mind not being out of his sight. It would actually be reassuring. She needed to catch up on some time with him anyways. It felt odd being so far away from him. Sometimes she wondered how she lived before Nathan. There was something about how she needed to be close to him. It was like a longing. Had that always been there? He was like a drug.

. . .

 

“Why are we working on a weekend?” Audrey asked from across from his desk.

“Well, actually I’m working…I needed to catch up on some paperwork… You’re here for moral support and company,” Nathan told her with a smile.

She laughed. “Is that the excuse for bringing me?”

“Hey, I told you that I could stop and get a box from Rosemary’s, but someone didn’t want to stop…”

“Maybe I don’t feel like being in a self-induced sugar coma today,” Audrey told him. “It’s nice to just relax here… We don’t get to do that too often.”

“Well, it’s work…I don’t think we’re supposed to be that relaxed,” Nathan told her. “Plus, I’ve seen you sleeping at your desk…”

“That was one time!” Audrey argued. “And I was exhausted…and that wasn’t my fault…”

“Still…you were sleeping on the job,” he teased with a bright smile.

“Do your paperwork,” she chastised. Audrey shook her head. She couldn’t believe how much she was enjoying just sitting there. After a moment of silence between them, she spoke up again. “You know I could help you with your paperwork and then we could be out of here sooner…”

“Are you saying I’m slow?” Nathan asked, trying to sound insulted.

“Sometimes,” she teased with a smile. “The sooner we get done…the sooner we can return to what we were doing this morning…” she reminded with a grin.

Nathan didn’t even need to think about that. “Okay, I suppose some help wouldn’t hurt.”

“Good!” Audrey said and moved her chair to the other side of Nathan’s desk so they were sitting next to each other. She started to go through the stack in his ‘inbox’ on his desk. She really needed to make sure he stayed on top of these things. Of course, she was pretty sure part of it was because he’d been distracted. She couldn’t blame him for that.

A knock at the door interrupted them their laughter and fighting over paperwork. Nathan called out before he looked up. “Come in!” he said.

Audrey looked up and froze for a moment. She hadn’t expected to see him, not for days at the very least. Why was he here? Was he crazy? No, they’d had that sorted out. He was supposed to be fine. “Duke…” she said quietly.

Nathan’s head flew up and he tried to quell the anger that was rising up in him. He really didn’t know what to think about Duke right now. He really didn’t want to see him though. Protectively, he grabbed on of Audrey’s hands that had been resting on her leg and held it. He wanted to be able to keep a hold of her…just in case. “Why are you doing here?”

“I’ve come to turn myself in… I’m sure you can think of some charges…” Duke said.

“Turning yourself in?” Nathan asked shocked. He honestly hadn’t thought about tracking Duke down and throwing him in jail. Okay, so maybe he’d thought about tracking him down and slugging him, but that was a little different. “I don’t think I have reasons to throw you in jail…”

“I’m sure you can think up something,” Duke said.

Audrey stared at him. “Why are you doing this?”

“I told you, I wasn’t trying to hurt either of you,” Duke said. “I was never not on your side, Audrey.” He paused for a moment. “I’m sure neither one of you are willing to trust me after everything, but Nathan…you were right. Audrey’s made me a better person…for the most part. I’m trying to prove that.”

“By turning yourself in?” Nathan asked confused. He wasn’t sure if this was a game or if Duke was actually being sincere. That was an odd thought, Duke being sincere.

“Yes,” Duke said.

“We don’t have any reason to throw you into a cell,” Audrey said. She looked over at Nathan. “Do we?”

“Nope,” Nathan replied and looked from Audrey to Duke.

Duke just stared at them both. “I’m not leaving Haven.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“You’re both in danger, you know that right?” Duke asked.

“We’ll deal with what comes our way,” Nathan said.

. . .

TBC...


	10. The Day We Died

Chapter 10 – “The Day We Died”

 

Days passed and they thought that everything would resume the way it used to be.

It almost did.

Shots rang out, which were closely followed by screams. In the middle of Main Street, guns were drawn like in an old west movie. The rev’s men had come to finish what they thought had been mended. Rumors of Nathan and Audrey had swirled through Haven like wildfire. Secrets were had to keep secret.

Nathan heard Audrey scream and watched her fall to the ground. He moved towards her and found himself falling to her side. Nathan hit the ground facing her, he reached out towards her face. Her eyes were closed and she wasn’t moving. Worry rose in him and he found himself barely able to keep his eyes open as he laid his hand against her cheek.

“Haven P.D.! Put your weapons down!” was yelled by multiple people.

It was the last thing he heard before the world around him blackened at the edges…and then overtook him completely.

. . .

 

Days passed slowly by. Haven slowly normalized…as normal as it ever was. The talk amongst those in town wavered from Reverend Driscoll’s death to the horrible actions taken by the reverend’s men as they shot Chief Wuornos and Officer Parker.

“How are you feeling?”

“Dead.”

“Nathan, don’t say such things,” Vince Teagues chastised.

“That’s how I feel. I wish that bullet had hit me in the chest instead of the arm.”

“There’s got to be something we can do for you,” Dave Teagues spoke up.

Nathan shook his head. “No pieces of someone to pick up this time and deposit in a cooler.”

They both sighed at him.

“I just want to be left alone right now,” Nathan told them.

“You know, everyone’s been concerned about you… We’ve been flooded by calls wondering how you’re doing,” Dave said gently.

“I told you how I am.” He looked over at them. “I just want to be left alone. Is that so hard to ask?” The Teagues exchanged looks and then patted him on the shoulder before leaving. Nathan sat there, staring down at the floor. The events of the last couple of days played over in his head. He closed his eyes as everything flooded back, he tried to push it back but it was no use.

 

“You’re going to be okay,” a woman’s voice said.

“The wound is a through and through,” another voice said.

Lights passed over his head before his body was finally settled on a bed with fixed lights overhead. He couldn’t feel anything but his head was in a fog. He’d been shot. He remembered that, but he didn’t know where. He tried to speak, but nothing came out of his mouth.

“Just relax, Chief,” the nurse said.

“He’s in shock,” someone else said.

Another voice spoke. “How are you feeling, Chief?”

“I don’t feel anything,” Nathan mumbled.

“His file says he has idiopathic neuropathy,” the nurse said. “He can’t feel anything, Doctor.”

“Audrey…” Nathan mumbled. Some of the memories came back to him. He remembered staring at Audrey, but she wasn’t moving…. She’d been shot too.

“She’s in the other room,” the nurse responded.

“She…okay…?” Nathan asked.

“She’s in surgery,” she responded truthfully. “I will check on her for you once you’re stable.”

“Au…drey…” Nathan mumbled again before blackness overtook him again.

 

That day, they had both died.

Nathan wanted to punch something. He wanted to hurt. If only it were as easy as going out and picking a fight or punching a wall. Nothing would help. He couldn’t feel. Even when he was dying, he couldn’t feel. His head had been foggy and confusion had set in, but he hadn’t been able to feel anything. He supposed in some ways he was lucky…

“Can I get you anything, Chief?” came a voice.

He shook his head. “No…thank you,” he said quietly. Today was the day that they were supposed to pack up his Bronco and head out. To go away from Haven…to relax… Instead, here he was sitting in a hospital. His doctor had ordered physical therapy, and since he’d neglected his at home exercises, he was forced to report to the hospital every day.

He just wanted to be alone. Why couldn’t people just leave him alone? To let him be immersed in the harsh reality of things? The reverend had killed him from the grave. And yet, the troubles still remained in Haven. Had it really done any good?

“You still sitting here wallowing in self pity?”

“Yeah, what’s it to you?” Nathan asked and looked over at Dwight. He’d been stalking him at physical therapy ever since Dwight had found him sprawled on the floor of his place, the first day he was home. Dwight was pretty much on Nathan’s list of people he didn’t want to see, it didn’t seem like Dwight had picked up on that fact though.

“Maybe,” Nathan responded.

“It’s not healthy you know.”

“That’s what I was going for…”

 

“You’re going to be fine,” Dwight told Nathan.

Nathan had just barely woken up and he was still suffering from confusion. It took him a few moments to process where he was and why he was there. He’d been shot. He and Audrey had been shot. It had been part of a plan (not the getting shot part), they’d lured the reverend’s men out. He remembered hearing his officers yelling as he’d blacked out on the street. Had they gotten them?

“The rev’s…men…did we…”

“We got’em,” Dwight responded before Nathan could finish his sentence. “Dave and Vince are making sure that all of Haven knows that they’re responsible for you and Audrey getting shot. They’re going to get charged with pre-meditated attempted murder.”

“Audrey?”

“The doctors don’t know for sure,” Dwight said honestly.

They didn’t know? How long had he been out? The nurse had told him that she’d check on Audrey for him. She was supposed to be in surgery… How badly had she been shot? He tried to move and then realized that he was stuck in a rather restrictive sling. He’d obviously been shot in the arm from the looks of how he was restrained in the device.

“I should have been there,” Dwight said.

“I didn’t think they’d get off a shot,” Nathan admitted as he tried to sit up.

Dwight held him down. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I want to see her.”

“They’re not letting anyone see her,” Dwight told him. “I got a glance of her through a window, but that’s been it.”

“They said she was having surgery…”

Dwight nodded. “They removed the bullet. It punctured her lung, they had to repair it, but they’re pretty sure that the lung will heal up fine. She hasn’t regained consciousness though…and the machines are doing all the breathing for her at the moment.”

“I want to see her,” he insisted with urgency as he tried to sit up again. Dwight would allow it. Nathan struggled and only managed to smack the nurse call button by accident. Soon, a nurse was breaking the two of them up and then was sedating him. He didn’t want to sleep. He didn’t even know how long he’d been out. How long he’d been at the hospital… But blackness consumed his world again.

 

  
“You know, you should do the exercises at home. You wouldn’t have to come here everyday,” Dwight told him.

“Somehow I think you’d still continue to hover,” Nathan said. “You know there’s a word for what you’re doing. It’s called stalking and in Haven it’s something I can throw you in jail for doing.”

“I think most people would agree that it’s more termed as looking out for you,” Dwight said. “You’re being destructive.”

“Can you really blame me?”

“Look,” Dwight said. He stopped Nathan from walking. He turned so that he was blocking his path. “Audrey’s not dead. She’s alive.”

Nathan was frustrated. Why didn’t people leave him alone? He really couldn’t deal with reality right now. What he wouldn’t give to trade places with her. “I can’t feel her, Dwight,” Nathan said.

“You can’t feel anyone.”

“I can feel Audrey,” Nathan blurted. “And when they finally let me see her…” He struggled to keep his composure. He sucked in a deep breath and then forced it out between his teeth. “I took her hand… I kissed her forehead… I couldn’t feel her… I should have been able to feel her.”

“So, you’re saying that she’s not Audrey?” Dwight asked, confusion filling his voice.

“No!” Nathan snapped. “I’m saying that almost a week ago, we both died… We died there on the street together!”

“You’re not dead! Audrey’s not dead!”

“Those machines are keeping her alive! That’s not living, Dwight!”

“The doctors said that she needs time. She needs a chance for her lung to heal. They gave her pretty good odds that her lung would completely heal and that she’d be able to breathe on her own,” Dwight told him. “Don’t give up on her.”

“They gave her a sixty percent chance of recovering last I heard. I hear that it goes down exponentially…”

“Go see her, Nathan.”

“I can tell you exactly what she looked like last time I saw her,” Nathan said. He could remember it vividly. It was probably because that memory of her was haunting him. He couldn’t fall asleep without seeing her like that. That wasn’t how she wanted to remember her…

 

He’d been left alone in her room. The lights were dimmed, but he could still see well enough. Slowly, Nathan approached her bedside. She looked like she was sleeping, but she was hooked up with tubes that extended to machines. Her pallor was sickly and pale. She was so still. The only sounds that emitted from her were from the machines there in the room. The whooshing and pumping of the mechanical ventilator, which was keeping her alive. The faint beeping that was keeping track of her vital signs.

“Audrey,” he spoke quietly as he reached out to take her hand. An IV had been placed there in her hand at one point, but now only a band-aid remained to cover it. Now, they’d inserted a central line, which ran into her chest at her left shoulder. At least, she wouldn’t be poked and prodded, he thought. He took her hand and immediately noticed that she felt a bit colder than he remembered. He covered her hand with his other and held it there for a moment.

It took him several minutes to realize it. To realize that he couldn’t feel her. That the one person he could feel…he couldn’t feel. He’d always felt her before. A handshake, a high five, a hug, or a kiss. All of it, he’d felt only from Audrey. She made him feel alive again. He dropped her hand as if it were on fire, but really he couldn’t feel anything and that scared him more than anything. He was confused and he took a step back. He examined his surroundings.

He was awake. He remembered how his day had gone. This didn’t feel like a dream… But even in his dreams, he could feel Audrey… It was never like this…

Nathan approached her bedside again. He caressed her face, still he couldn’t feel her. “No…” he sputtered. Nathan leaned down and kissed her forehead. Nothing. He didn’t feel anything. Tears sprang from his eyes, rolled down his cheeks, and landed there on Audrey’s face. “No…” he blurted. He felt like yelling it. He felt like shaking her. She had to wake up. She had to.

“This isn’t right…” Nathan said. He stepped back and found himself hitting the wall. That was when he knew that they had died there on Main Street together. There was no denying it. Audrey had brought him to life and he refused to even try to go on without her. Right now, the machines were keeping her alive. The doctors were waiting to hear the word from someone about taking her off in so many days if she didn’t start to respond.

Audrey had died…and so had he…

. . .

TBC…


	11. The Day We Lived

Chapter 11 – “The Day We Lived”

 

He wanted to quit. To give up. No one was letting him. Life really wasn’t fair. Nathan had loaded up his Bronco. He’d decided he needed that vacation; it was going to be far more depressing than he’d originally planned, but he’d deal with it. Maybe he’d go fishing or just sit out by the lake… Something that involved no type of thinking.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Nathan sighed as he pushed the tailgate closed. “What do you want now, Dwight?”

“You’re supposed to be at physical therapy…and your sling’s supposed to still be on,” Dwight told him.

“I decided that my arm’s good enough,” Nathan said. “I’m done with physical therapy.”

“Where you going?” Dwight asked. He nodded in the direction of the packed Bronco.

“Does it matter?”

“What if we need to reach you? All hell could break out…”

“Then let it break out,” Nathan said.

“Come on, Nathan,” Dwight pushed.

“I’m going to stay at a cabin up in Eustis,” Nathan finally said with a sigh. The next sentence was harder for him to get out. “Au—Audrey and I…were supposed to go there…to take a vacation…”

Dwight nodded. “You sure you’re going to be okay going up there alone?”

“I’ll be fine… The arm’s better,” he said and stretched it out a bit to prove it.

“The fact that you can’t feel doesn’t make me feel any better about things,” Dwight told him. “But…have a good trip. Call if you need anything.”

Nathan just nodded before heading to the driver’s side door of his Bronco. He looked into the side mirror and could see that Dwight was leaving. He was thankful. It was hard enough to deal with reality; he didn’t need someone hounding him to deal with “issues”. He got into the Bronco, pulled the door shut, and started the engine. He headed towards the highway; he’d make his way to Eustis and be there before it got dark.

. . .

 

When Nathan arrived at the cabin, the sun was just going down. He’d taken a bit longer in a store between Haven and Eustis. He really hadn’t thought of any of that until he’d been on the road. He’d called and reserved the cabin when he and Audrey had decided to go. The key was supposed to be hidden above the door and he’d have to turn on the water when he got there. It wasn’t anything too intensive. Nathan was thankful that he wouldn’t have to talk to anyone. He could just spend time at the cabin and be alone.

He parked the Bronco outside of the cabin and pulled his bag of groceries and his duffel bag from the passenger side. He had some more items in the back, but he didn’t need them. Not right now. He’d get them out tomorrow. He made his way towards the front door and looked up above the door. He didn’t see anything, but that didn’t mean the key wasn’t there. Nathan set down his bags and reached up above with both hands, but he couldn’t find the key.

Frowning, Nathan was about to call the number he had in case there were any issues with the cabin when he thought to try the handle. Maybe whoever fixed up the cabins in between uses was still there… He reached out and turned the handle and then pushed. It opened and he noticed candles lit. Nathan wondered if maybe he got the date wrong. Was he intruding? “Hello?” he called as he picked up his things. He moved them so they were just inside the door before stepping in himself. Nathan closed the door behind and moved further into the cabin.

“Hello?” he called again. Food was cooking, he could smell that. And everywhere there seemed to be more and more candles.

“You took long enough to get here. I was starting to think that you’d changed your mind.”

Nathan froze. The voice was behind him. Tears pushed to his eyes. He was hallucinating. He had to be. Even though he couldn’t feel the pain from his arm, he was thinking that maybe his body had reached its tolerance and so now instead of feeling the pain he was just hallucinating. Not exactly what he wanted to do. The voice belonged to Audrey. “You’re not real,” he spoke up. He didn’t turn. He couldn’t turn. If he saw her, the hallucination would be too real. He couldn’t deal with it right now. He wanted to forget…to not think of anything…

“I’m plenty real. Are you going to turn around?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Seeing you makes it into a reality instead of a hallucination,” Nathan said.

“But I am real, Nathan,” she insisted.

“No,” Nathan said. “I saw you. Hooked up to those machines in the hospital. Pale as a ghost. I touched you…I couldn’t feel you. Audrey Parker’s gone…dead…”

“You know, if you’d come and seen me you’d know that I’d gotten better,” she said.

Nathan closed his eyes, tears streamed down his face. He tried to wish the hallucination away. He didn’t want to live there with a hallucination or a ghost. He couldn’t bear it. It wasn’t often that he broke down…but this was shaping up to being one of those rare occasions. “I couldn’t…it was too hard…” he whispered. He stayed still and tried to remember the cabin as he’d seen it before, without the candles. Nathan just wanted to reset everything.

Then she touched him.

He could feel her touch.

He jumped and found himself turning around towards the voice automatically. Nathan almost fell over when he saw her. Audrey was there, standing in front of him. Her hair was pulled back and up. She was wearing a grey and silver long sleeve henley and jeans. He could feel her…was it really Audrey?

“I’m not dead, Nathan,” she said.

“We both died,” he told her.

Audrey looked at him oddly. “You got shot in the arm. Last I heard, that wasn’t fatal…”

Nathan was still not sure that it was really her. He reached out cautiously and touched her hand. It was like lightning, the feeling of being able to feel her. He took a step back in shock. She was really there. Audrey was there and out of the hospital bed he’d sworn she’d died in. “H-h-how?” he asked. He looked from her hand to her face.

“I got better,” Audrey told him simply. “They said my lungs needed some extra time to heal. That my body let me sleep through it. That it heals better that way.” She shrugged. “I’m a cop, remember…not a doctor.” She smiled brightly at him, hoping for a smile in return.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Nathan asked.

“From what I’ve heard, you wouldn’t have listened,” Audrey told him. “I told you that I wasn’t going anywhere… You’re stuck with me.”

Nathan smiled for the first time. “I’m glad to be stuck with you.” He reached out to take her hand again and pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly and swayed a bit. It was so nice to have her in his arms. His hand went up to her hair and he kissed the side of her head. Tears fell from his eyes again. He closed his eyes to flush them down his cheeks again.

He felt alive again.

“You can’t ever do that to me,” Nathan told her as he held her tight. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You would live.”

“No, I wouldn’t,” Nathan argued. He pulled back just enough so that he could see her face. “You’re not just my partner… Maybe it’s because I can feel you…and only you…but there’s a connection…”

“I know,” she said gently.

Nathan smiled. “I missed you.” He leaned in and initiated a kiss. She kissed him back and he found himself holding her as tight as he could. He didn’t want to let her go…not ever.

After a few moments, they separated. “I missed you too,” Audrey said. “Everyone said you were taking things hard… I was hoping to surprise you…though I will admit, I didn’t think you’d respond to the surprise with thinking that I was dead.”

“I guess I’m a pessimist.”

“We’ll have to work on that,” she teased.

“I think we should,” he responded with a bright smile. Nathan leaned in to kiss her again. The time at the cabin was definitely going to be much more exciting than he’d expected. He was overjoyed, though. To feel the world moving around him again, it was amazing.

Audrey pulled away and out of his arms. “Now, it’s not that I don’t want to do this…I do,” she told him. “But…I have to get dinner finished.”

“I’m not hungry,” he said as he moved towards her. He was intent on kissing her again.

“I am,” she told him and shook her head at him. “I’m pretty sure this vacation is going to be more than just the weekend.”

“It is…”

“So, we have time,” she told him.

“We do.”

Nathan watched her disappear into the kitchen and he couldn’t remove the grin from his face if he tried. Audrey was alive. He was alive. Things were moving the way everything was supposed to. He felt as if the weight of the world had been removed from his shoulders. After a moment, he followed her into the kitchen hoping to help her in some way. If all else failed, he was sure that he could just keep her company.

. . .

 

Morning came. The sun rose up into the sky, lighting the bedroom up. The thin curtains didn’t keep much of the light out. Nathan didn’t care. He and Audrey hadn’t slept all night. They’d spent a lot of time just lying in bed together, wrapped in each other’s arms, and just talking. They’d talked about everything. Nathan had already felt like he knew Audrey before, but now…now he felt like he knew her whole life. It wasn’t a bad thing. He just felt that much more connected to her.

He stared at her. She was beautiful in the muted morning light. He didn’t ever want to leave the cabin…or bed for that matter. “We should sleep,” he told her as he reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“Why don’t I make you pancakes? We can have breakfast in bed and then sleep?” Audrey offered.

“That would require us to move,” Nathan pointed out. He was quite comfortable where he was. He really didn’t want to move. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever be tired. Not with her there.

“It does…” she told him with a smile. “I promise it’ll be worth it though…”

“Probably shouldn’t eat them in bed…we’re likely to get syrup on the bedding…”

“Good point,” Audrey said and got out of bed quickly. She pulled on pajama pants and hurried out of the room.

Nathan watched her for a minute before sliding out of bed and pulling on the pajama pants he had on his side. He had started to wear them since Audrey had been staying with him and then it had just become habit. He wandered towards the kitchen and found her already at work. “You know we don’t have to have pancakes.”

“You love pancakes.”

“I do,” Nathan said as he scratched his head. He yawned. “We could have something you like, though…”

“I like pancakes,” she told him.

He moved behind her as she mixed the ingredients in the bowl. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. “Are you sure you want to do breakfast?”

“I think we both need it…or else we’re going to just collapse and never wake up,” Audrey told him. “Plus, I need to eat something to take my meds.”

“Right,” Nathan said and kissed her neck again.

Audrey laughed. “You’re determined to be distracting, aren’t you?”

“Is it working?”

She laughed again. “I’m going to make pancakes… Distractions or not.”

“Is that a challenge?” he teased as she moved out of his arms. He watched as Audrey went over to the stove and started to spoon the batter into the pan.

“No…no playing while I’m cooking… Last thing either of us needs is to end up in the hospital again.” She turned to him and pointed towards the cupboard. “Can you get me a plate out?”

Nathan nodded and retrieved a large plate for her. He leaned against the counter and just watched her. He knew that this was quite domestic, but he liked it. He could do this every morning…or at least on weekends. He wasn’t going to let Audrey go. She brought this color to his life that wasn’t there before…and hadn’t been there since he’d been shot. It changed everything.

“Do you know what you want to do while we’re up here?” Audrey asked as she flipped the pancakes.

“I don’t care as long as you’re there,” he responded as he stared at her. Originally he’d planned on fishing. He’d brought poles and a tackle box. None of that mattered now. He could just sit inside with her the whole time and be perfectly content.

“You have to want to do something,” Audrey told him as she looked over at him.

“I don’t care… Really… I’m just happy you’re here,” Nathan admitted.

Audrey blushed a bit and deposited pancakes onto the plate. A pancake mountain was quickly forming. She dropped the last of the batter into the pan before moving the bowl and spoon into the sink and rinsing them. She returned to the stove and flipped them. It didn’t take long before all the pancakes were done and she was setting the plate on the table.

Nathan had already brought out plates, utensils, butter, and syrup. They both sat down and started to pull pancakes onto their respective plates. Audrey watched Nathan as he dressed up the pancakes how he liked and took the first bite. He was definitely loving the breakfast. She figured that once they both ate that they would be full and even more content. It would make sleeping so much easier. She knew that messing up their sleep schedule wasn’t the bed idea, but they were on vacation. They had some time before they needed to return back to Haven. They could be on whatever schedule they wanted right now.

. . .

 

Giggles filled the bedroom as the sheets moved about. They’d slept through much of the day and Audrey had found herself being woken up by Nathan’s lips. She hadn’t minded being woken up like that. To be wrapped in his arms. There was something absolutely blissful about it.

“I don’t think we need to leave the bed,” Nathan told her.

She laughed. “I think that you may want to eat sometime.”

“Eating’s highly overrated,” Nathan responded with a smile.

“You may need your strength back at one point,” she teased. Audrey kissed him and then cuddled up against him. This was truly a blissful vacation. It was like nothing else in the world mattered.

“Maybe,” Nathan told her and dropped a kiss on her forehead. He held her and knew that this really was living. There was no way he could have ever imagined the glorious overwhelmingly wonderful filling feeling that he’d felt.

She looked up at him. “You’re right, you know,” Audrey told him.

“What?”

“You’re the one person who knows me…”

Nathan smiled and kissed her forehead again. “I know who you are,” he repeated. “And I love you.”

“I love you,” Audrey found herself saying as she stared up at him. Had she really said those words? This man that had been her best friend and her partner…was something so much more. How and when had that happened, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she wouldn’t trade that feeling for anything. They just stayed like that for several moments before Audrey spoke up again. “Shower?” she suggested.

“You and leaving the bed…”

“I made you pancakes before,” Audrey pointed out. “I don’t remember you complaining…”

“That’s true…”

Audrey moved in his arms so that their heads were even. She stared at him for a moment and then an impish smile appeared. Leaning in, Audrey kissed him long and deep. Once she broke it, she spoke up quietly. “We could always continue this in the shower…”

That was enough to get Nathan to get up. He followed her to the bathroom. There was kissing before the water had even been turned on. He could definitely spend the whole time inside of the cabin. He reached in and turned on the water and kissed Audrey while they waited for it to warm up.

She giggled as she found herself hitting the bathroom wall. “Nathan Wuornos, how is it that you’re not married yet?” she teased. Audrey honestly didn’t understand how in all his years in Haven, Nathan had never had a really serious relationship. Nathan was handsome and kind. He was definitely the kind of guy to settle down with and have a family with. She’d even seen him with babies; he was scary good with them. What wasn’t to like?

“I guess I just never found the right woman,” he told her as he stared into her eyes. “Not until now…” He guided her into the shower as they continued to kiss. He definitely was going to enjoy this vacation.

All hell could break loose in Haven…and he really wouldn’t care less. Haven could survive a few days without them. Right now, all he wanted to do was to focus on Audrey and the precious time they had together. He wouldn’t waste another moment with her.

. . .

 

The End.


End file.
